By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll also melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour 3 times a week.

Leading up to summer, I will be doing a weekly column that shows one multitasking toning move and one cardio interval. Collect them all or add them into what you are already doing. If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30 minute multitasking toning and cardio interval BOOTY CAMP DVD is available staring March 7th at www.nikkifitness.com and March 30th on Amazon.

Multitasking Toning Move 1: T&A (works your chest, and glutes, with biceps, abs and hamstrings as assistors.)

Set Position: Lay on your back with one heavy weight in each hand, about 10 pounds. Place your elbows on the floor and out to the sides away from your body and bend them at 90 degrees. Your wrists and the weights should be directly over the elbows so that your arms form a goalpost shape. Bend your knees so your ankles are directly below them. Extend the left leg to the ceiling.

The Move: Push through your right foot to lift the hips up into a bridge and your left foot moves closer to the ceiling, at the same time push the weights to the sky as shown here. Do 20 reps on this side, perform the cardio move, then do 20 reps on the other side, with right leg extended to the sky.

Cardio Interval 1: Jumping pleas (works glutes, quads, inner thighs and calves):

Do 20 regular jumping jacks, then on #21 land in a plea squat position (pictured) with toes and knees wider than shoulder width, pointing to the sides, and aligning the knees over the ankles. Hop up and bring the feet and knees together and squat back like you were sitting in a chair, keeping the abs tight. That makes one rep. Jump back into plea squat and repeat for 20, finish with 20 more jacks and go back to the toning move on the other side. Finish with another round of this cardio interval.

You’ve just completed booty camp basic training!

Check out Part 2: Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 2

Fitness – Fit it in!

Nikki

By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour 3 times a week.

Leading up to summer, each weekly blog includes a backside-focused multitasking toning move and one cardio interval - this is #2.

If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30 minute multitasking toning and cardio interval BOOTY CAMP DVD is available staring now for 19.99 at www.nikkifitness.com and March 30th on Amazon.

Weights

The Move: Triceps Skull Crush and Booty Bridge (works triceps and glutes) If you are coordinated, this multitasker will be a nice change from boring triceps dips! Lay on your back with light to medium weights in both hands and arms straight up to the sky, palms facing in. Lift the butt off the floor into a bridge by bending knees and pushing through the feet. Lift the right foot off the floor and extend the leg straight out, parallel to the floor.

As you lower the weights toward each side of your head, next to your ears, be sure to keep the elbows over the shoulders - we are only moving from the hands and wrists to the floor, not the whole arm. At the same time, raise the right foot to the sky as pictured.

Lower foot parallel to the floor again as you raise the hands to the sky. Your leg and arms move together as if your shoelace were tied to your wrists. Do 15 reps. Change sides and do another 15. Put down the weights and get to your first set of cardio.

Cardio

The Move: Plyo Power (Works glutes, quads, abs) Start by standing up. Do a right front kick leading with the knee, then exploding that powerful kick with the foot flexed, hands in ready fight position in fists by your chin. As you lower the leg, lunge back with the left foot. Support yourself by keeping your right hand on the right quad as you lower town to touch the floor with your left hand.

Trainers tip: lunge far back so that your right knee is directly over the ankle as you reach for the floor. Hop back up for the second right kick by using your powerful leg and glute muscles! Do 20 on the right, 20 jumping jacks, then 20 on the left.

Go back and do your second multitasking skull crusher move and repeat until you compete 3 sets of both exercises.

You’ve just toned your bum and then some!

Check out Part 1: Tone Your Bum, and Then Some! Part 1

Fitness – Fit it in!

Nikki

By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour 3 times a week.

Leading up to summer, each weekly blog includes a backside-focused multitasking toning move and one cardio interval - this is #3.

If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30 minute multitasking toning and cardio interval BOOTY CAMP DVD is available staring now for 19.99 at www.nikkifitness.com and on Amazon.

Toning

The Move: Triceps pushup with glutes lift (works chest, back of the arm and booty). Start in pushup position on your knees. Move your hands in closer than a traditional push-up and directly under your shoulders. Allign the shoulders, hips and knees in one line and do not allow your butt to go up to the sky – keep most of the weight in your hands. As you lower to the floor, bring the chest almost to touch the ground and bring the elbows back and almost touching your ribcage (not out to the sides). As you push back up to the sky, raise your right knee off the floor and push the flexed sole of your foot to the ceiling. Lower knee back to floor to complete one rep. Do 12-10 reps on the right side, then skip to the cardio move below, and then come back to a tricep pushup on your left side.

Trainer’s Tip: If the triceps pushup is too difficult, do the first 8 or so with hands in under shoulders and elbows close to sides, and then the rest with the hands wider than shoulder width and allow the elbows to point away and out to the sides, over the wrists.

To Intensify: This is harder than a normal pushup, so I am showing the modified version in the photos. For advanced, do a full pushup on your toes instead of the knees and with elbows in by the sides. Lift your straight leg about a foot off the ground up towards the sky, lower and repeat.)

Cardio

The Move: Lunge to touch (works quads, glutes and thighs). If you are working this in with the other moves from blog 1 and 2, then you have been using weights. Place the weights on the ground about 7 feet apart. We will use these as touch targets. Lunge sideways to the right with toes pointing forward, right hand on your right quadriceps (above the knee). Reach the left hand across the body to the floor where you placed the weights, just in front of the right foot.

Push off your right leg and reach both hands over head to reach for the sky. Land into a left side lunge, reaching the right hand across to the other weight on the floor in front of your left foot to complete one rep. Repeat the move for 30 seconds, then do 30 second of pretend jump rope, followed by 30 seconds more of the lunge to touch (This cardio interval should last a minute and a half all together.)

Go back and do your second multitasking triceps/glute pushup on the left side and repeat the cardio. Work the moves from this blog in with the other two Booty Camp moves from blog 1 and 2 to boost your booty and your metabolism!

Fitness - fit it in! Nikki

Lay on your back with both hands behind your head for support, legs long. Lift both legs off the floor 3 inches. Then raise the right leg to the ceiling and reach your left hand straight up toward your toe. Switch sides and bring your straight left leg up to the sky and reach for your toe with the right hand. Keep looking at the ceiling and do 30 reps.

Trainers tip: for modifications, email me at nikki@nikkifitness.com.
If you want to add this six pack to a set of toned buns, check out my booty camp moves and DVD as well.

Fitness - Fit it in!

Here is one that I love, because you can change it to 3 different levels, from modified to advanced, to athlete.

I will explain the "athlete" or level 3 as pictured here, and then explain how to modify it.

Athlete (Level 3, pictured): Lay on the floor with one weight the size of what you would use to challenge yourself with 15 bicep curls. I usually use 10-15 pounds.

Hold the fat ends of the weight in each palm and lay on your back.

Extend our arms and legs long - this is set position.

To crunch, lift the weight with your arms straight, like a lat pull-over, while you bend your legs into your chest. LIFT THE SHOULDERS off the mat as you reach your hands toward your shoelaces. You will be crunched in as tight as you can, with your gaze on the ceiling to keep the neck in line with the spine.

Return to set position WITHOUT resting legs on the floor, let them hover about 3 inches from the floor for each rep.

Do as many of these as you can while keeping your lower back pressed into the floor. Remember the number you can do in the first set and take a break while completing some of your usual workout moves or cardio. Return and try to do close to the same number again. Break and repeat for a 3rd set. You will likely be able to do more the first time and work down as your abs fatigue.

To modify:

Beginner (Level 1) - do not use a weight. Extend arms overhead and straighten legs up to the ceiling instead 90 degrees from the floor, feet over hips (set position). Reach your straight arms up to ceiling and down towards your shoelaces as described above while bending the knees into the chest and lifting the shoulders off the mat. Return to set (feet to ceiling).

Advanced (Level 2) - follow the athlete instructions, but use a 5-8 pound weight and set position for your straight legs is a 45 degree angle between the ceiling and the floor, or about 2 feet off the floor.

Don't forget that half the battle is 3 days of cardio per week and every day following a diet of lots of water, and 5-6 small meals of lean protein like fish and chicken, whole wheat carbs (yes, even pasta), natural fruit and veggies, and calcium from sources like skim milk and yogurt. Include nuts like almonds and walnuts and always plan ahead to keep your tank 1/4 full. When you are running on empty is when you make poor food choices.

Nikki

While the jury is still out on stretching before you work out, everyone agrees stretching for about 20 seconds per muscle group after a workout is a must to stay flexible, injury free, be less sore and knotted up, and turn your body long and lean.

Some tips for the average Joe who is not used to stretching:

Breath deeply as you stretch, filling up the lungs as much as possible with a full long exhale (think yoga breath). Dont bounce because what trainers call ballistic stretching is a one way ticket to injurytown, hold and go deeper into each move as you feel yourself loosening up. Dont strain, but aim- for eventually more flexibility.

Many people do abs at the end of a workout, so we will start the stretches from a seated position.

Seated Hamstring Stretch

Straighten legs out in front of you and fold over them from the hips. Stop when your knees start to bend and lengthen as you inhale, fold a little lower as you exhale and lengthen. Reach toward your feet, but try to to curl the back, it is not important to get your head low, but more important to elongate the hamstrings. Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Outer Thigh Seated With Twist

This will also work your glutes. Keep left leg straight and bend right knee, dropping right foot over and to the outside of your left leg. Sit up straight and hug the knee into the chest. Stay there or add a twist (good for the back and helps digestion and hangovers) by anchoring your left elbow above the bent right knee. Put right hand behind you and twist the torso. Look over your right shoulder. After 20 seconds, repeat on the other side.

Stand up. With both feet flat, begin to stand with hands on quads, and slowly round the back up, head last.

Calf Stretch With Triceps

Place left foot behind you, about 3 feet back into a lunge. Make sure the heel pushes into the floor as you lean on your bent right leg. The right knee should be directly over the right ankle. To multitask this stretch, stop leaning and move the shoulders over your hips. Extend the left arm overhead and then bend the elbow to drop the hand behind your neck, elbow to the sky. Extend right arm overhead, and place hand on left elbow. Push the elbow toward the head to increase the stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Hip Flexor

Keep the right leg back and wiggle it back even farther, about a foot, so that the heel can no longer touch the floor. Frame your left front foot with both hands on either side. Left knee is directly over the ankle. Think about making the back leg as straight as possible and dropping the hips closer to the floor. You should fee a stretch where your right pants pocket would be. Repeat on other side.

Quadriceps and Shoulder

Your left leg is behind now from the last stretch. Straighten the torso over the hips again and bring left leg in about a foot, bending the knee underneath the shoulders and hips. To multitask, extend left arm across the body at shoulder level, toward the right side of the body. Use your right hand to gently press above or below the elbow joint pushing the the left arm into the chest. Repeat on other side.

Inner Thigh

Open the legs out to the side in a plea squat, wider than shoulder width. Knees should point out to the sides and be bent close to 90 degrees, directly over the ankles. Tip at the hip and gently press hands into inner thighs, opening up the legs a little wider and increasing the stretch. Slowly roll the back up after holding for at least 20 seconds.

Chest Stretch

Interlace the fingers behind your back and try to press the heals of your hands together, closing palms into each other. Lift the straight arms up behind you toward the sky and hold.

Upper Back

We are basically going to reverse the last move and interlace the fingers in front of the body. Scoop the belly back, and tilt the shoulders and hips forward. Slightly bend the knees and press hands away and in front of you at shoulder level.

Side Stretch Abs

Separate feet again at least as wide as your shoulders. Support yourself on your left elbow into your left hip as you lean to the left. Extended right arm overhead and to the left. Hold the stretch and tilt your head up to the sky, looking under your arm to the ceiling. Repeat on the other side.

Take a deep breath in and remember how good you feel. Long, lean, toned, and not so average!

Check out NikkiFitness.com for a FREE stretch video. All stretches above can be found on the Nikki Fitness Military Wife Workout DVD.

Fitness - Fit it in!

Nikki

This pretend "virus" is back injury. It is real and happens to people every day when they trip and try to catch their balance, roll out of bed, bend over to pick up a bag, take a kickboxing class, or perform a dead lift. The medicine I prescribe to avoid "catching" the virus is a few exercises for the upper and lower back. I will explain two easy ones here today.

Lower for Living:

Strengthening your lower back muscles is important for people who don't exercise on a regular basis, but equally as important for those who do exercise but overlook the lower back. If you have a bad lower back, you can't do those crunches, bicep curls, lunges or daily living activities.

Upper for Posture:

The upper back exercises are important as well, especially if you sit at a computer or hunched over a desk much of the time. It is equally important if your exercise routine includes pushups and bench presses but not working the opposite muscle group - the trapezius and rhomboids. Hunched posture can cause painful knots and strains, chiropractor bills and give the wrong first impression.

Moves:

Airplane - This exercise will work but upper and lower back. The airplane (pictured below) is performed by lying on your stomach with arms extended out to the sides at shoulder level.

1) Lift your head, chest, arms, knees and feet off the floor, leaving just your torso on the mat. It is also important to keep looking at the floor, not cranking your head up to look at the wall in front of you. Keeping your gaze on the floor keeps the neck in line with the spine. Hold for 3 seconds and release. Repeat 10 times.

2) Next, speed up the move to 15 faster singles, not pausing at the top.

3) Finally, hold the arms, legs and chest up to the top of the move keep the legs and chest lifted, and "flap your wings" by moving the hands up and down for 10 repetitions. As a bonus, this exercise also tones your tush!

Stretch - That completes one set. When done with each set, do a cat stretch on all fours and drop the head while rounding the back up to the ceiling.

Balance Reach - To perform the balance reach (pictured below) stay on all fours on hands and knees.

Keep looking at the floor as you reach your left leg up and straight behind you, as you lift your right arm straight in front of you. Hold the leg and arm up for a count of 3 and release. Straighten and lift your right leg and light arm simultaneously, hold for 3 and release to complete one repetition. Continue to gaze at the floor throughout the move. Do 10 reps for one set and finish with a cat stretch.

Back it Up

Before I became a trainer I didn't realize the importance of working my back as much as working my abs. I ask you to add these moves to each workout you do. In the future I will do a column on more challenging back exercises like wheel pushups, stability ball back extensions and airplane supermans, but for now I put these exercises and others on my DVDs to help others from falling prey to a back injury.

So take this advice from someone who went through a back injury and could not do normal daily tasks... and take your medicine.

Fitness - Fit it in!

Nikki

Interval training can come in different forms, like alternating jogging and sprinting when you run in the park. But what I do at Crunch fitness in Manhattan, and in my fitness DVDs, is take this a step further. By combining  fast and slow cardio with multitasking muscle moves in one workout, you will not have to worry about doing legs one day, arms the next, and cardio the third. You really do get everything in one workout, and 5 very special benefits.

• Appetite: Recent studies in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine show that  subjects who did cardio and muscle toning intervals ate over 500 less calories per day after 4 months than those who did cardio one day and all muscle toning the next. They say the combination can cause a change in hormones that control your hunger.
  
  
• Stress: The same study showed that being active reduces cortisol levels that are caused by stress.
  
  
• Endurance: in biking or "ride" classes, the study showed that short high intensity sessions, sprinkled with recovery instead of steady state pace, boosted endurance.
  
  
• Metabolism: With interval cardio and muscle training sessions, you can also get the benefits of  increased metabolism. If you up the intensity of the workout through alternating cardio and muscle moves, and you increase excess post- exercise oxygen consumption. This is what we trainers call "after burn." Resistance training builds metabolism-boosting muscle while cardio makes the fat over the muscle disappear. Then after your workout you will continue to burn more calories while reading, watching TV and sleeping!
  
  
• Better toning: According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, women whose muscle routines only included weightlifting  gained less muscle strength, added less muscle endurance and lost less body fat compared with those who ran for a minute before each strength set.
  
  
• Fight osteoporosis: We all know those people, women especially, who only diet and run, bike and do cardio machines. They think skinny is better than toned, sleek, healthy and strong. A hump on your back and broken hip doesn't look good at any age. Young women are becoming more and more prone to stress fractures because of reduced calorie intake and cardio, cardio, cardio. They don't realize that it's not about being skinny as the Olson twins, it is about looking toned, and being strong for everyday life. God forbid you fall into a situation where you need physical strength to save your life, you want to be ready for it. Lifting weights builds strong bones. Sprinkle it in to stand up straight, defend yourself and walk without a limp. That is sexy.

So overcome workout boredom and make the hour fly by. Alternate between fast and slow cardio and multitasking muscle moves that work arms, abs and legs at the same time. Working out is the most important thing you can do for yourself, and there should always be an "I" in fitness.

Nikki

If you don't have access to a gym or weights, there are plenty of things you can do with your own body's resistance. Here are 10 of the 20 moves that make up my exercise-on-the-road routine. In my next column you'll get the other 10 moves, and they get more intense.

1) Warm-up. Start with a simple march and then jog in place for a minute. Move to a step-touch while lifting arms to the sides. Add an alternating hamstring curl and biceps curl with both arms. Then finish up the five-minute warm-up with light jumping jacks.

2) Push-ups with a glute raise. Start with regular style or add a multi-tasking move by lowering to the knees and adding lower-body sculpting. After the first modified push-up raise your right foot to the ceiling. Repeat 10 times on the right side after each push-up and then 10 times on the left side. You've just worked your pecs, triceps, core and glutes.

3) Low leg low ab crunch. Next, lie on your back and straighten your legs 80 percent straight, knees together and feet on the floor. Put your hands behind your head and crunch up for 50.. Be sure to keep your eyes on the ceiling, knees together, neck long and chin lifted.

4) Cardio interval. Jump rope (pretend to hold the rope and swing it for extra biceps work) for one minute or count to 100 — alternate from one leg at a time, to feet together and hopping. Maybe hop twice on one leg at a time. Have fun with it. For all cardio intervals in this workout, march in place for at least 20 seconds afterwards to get your heart rate back down to a comfortable level.

5) Triceps dips. Sit on a bench, footstool or chair with your hands at your sides and palms on the bench knuckles up and fingertips curling around towards the floor. Lift yourself off the bench and slightly forward. Lower your backside toward the floor while bending your elbows at 90 degrees. Finish the move by pushing back up so elbows extend again. You can make this more difficult by straightening the legs or lifting one leg off the floor.

6) Inner thighs. Lie on your right side and balance on your right elbow and right hip. Bend your left knee to place the left foot in front of your straight right leg. Be sure to keep the right foot parallel to the floor and lift the right leg 30 times. Repeat on the other side. Next lie on your back with your legs extended over your ribcage. Turn the toes out and flex the feet. Begin to open and lower the legs to the sides, away from one another. To finish the move, bring the heels back together. To intensify, only bring heels in halfway and press against your inner thighs with your hands for a true "thigh master" resistance move. Repeat step one on the left elbow and hip.

7) Cardio. Stand up and do 20 jumping jacks with the right foot in front, 20 with the left foot in front and 20 alternating and crossing feet.

8) Outer thighs. Now lie again on your right side, and prop yourself up on your elbow but this time in a half-side plank. Bend the right leg lift hips off the floor. Keep the left leg straight as you lift it for 25 reps. Keep the abs tight because you're working them as well in this multitasker. Repeat on the other side.

9) Planks. Alternate from a middle plank (looks like a freeze frame of the top of a push-up) to a side plank and hold each for a count of 10 seconds. middle, right, middle, left equals one repetition. Complete 5 repetitions.

10) Cool down. Do a 5 minute cool down with the same moves in the warm up and then stretch your hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, hip flexors, inner and outer thighs, glutes, triceps, pectorals, trapezious and rhomboids (upper back), and lower back with standing rolls or cat/cow.

Remember to drink a lot of water, and maybe treat yourself to a new exercise clothes as a souvenir to celebrate your healthy habits on the road.

Nikki