Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
I have always believed in the 'whole body' approach to fitness. Regularly exercising all the major muscles of the body will always guarantee that you will firm and tone the entire body, have strong muscles, and an excellent VO2 max (that simply means your oxygen uptake is the best it can be and is a true test of aerobic fitness).
But in the early days of my career, we encouraged women to concentrate on areas of the body they were concerned about. We all loved our aerobics but when it came to toning exercises the pear shape wanted lots and lots of leg work and the apple shape would sweat over their abdominal curls and waist trimmers! There was nothing wrong with that, I hasten to add, as it seriously increased their motivation to work out regularly.
Now as an older fitness instructor, working with more mature exercisers, I still focus on the ‘’whole body approach’ but for significantly different reasons! As we naturally lose muscle mass as we age it is important for us to try to fight the decline by working our muscles regularly to enable us to hold on to our muscle strength. It is so important that we are 'strong' from top to toe and able to manage everything we want to do in life. By so doing we can help avoid illness and increase our lifespan!
My daughters are in their mid-40s and work out regularly, and I know that they have that desire to 'look' like they exercise rather than the knowledge of what is happening on the inside. Like their mother they are apple shaped so the trunk area is a big focus for them, but I am happy to report that they also generally take that whole body approach to their training so they are truly 'fit'.
I have to say that I am a bit bemused about the desire by many young women to have a large bottom but these fashion trends come and go. The next big thing might be back to the voluptuous chest from the 1950s!
But whatever your main reason for regularly working out, whether it be for the 'look' or 'longevity', see a 'whole body' programme as being your priority this week. You will then be covering the body in a structured and effective way. So, let's explore those key areas of the body so you can check you have got them covered.
The Tummy area
Abdominal curls and twisted curls are still major players here but the introduction of 'core' training has helped us achieve and maintain a much flatter and more 'toned' tummy area. The 'corset ' effect of the transverse muscle that lies across the abdominal area is key to a flatter tummy and if you regularly think of your posture throughout the day, you will be automatically engaging those key muscles.
The Thighs
There is just one thing I would say here...walk, walk and walk a bit more! Not just as an exercise session that you have planned to do, but at any time of day just stand up and move! Well-used leg muscles naturally become firmer, more toned and slimmer! Doing leg exercises lying on your side is always useful too as it targets the outer and inner thighs but walking on uneven terrain will do the job nicely too.
The Calves
You may not think this is a key area but for some it is, so I have included it. Walking is obviously a good workout for the calves but repetitively doing heel lifts, holding on for support if you need, is a good strength and toning exercise for this specific area.
The Bottom
Literally walking up and down stairs at every opportunity is the best way to create a firm bottom. Combine this with walking uphill on your walks and you will see the difference. In a gym, use the cross trainer. In other words, find any activity that makes the muscles in our bottom (our glutes) work much harder. Such actions make the glutes stronger and firmer ‘lifting’ the shape of our bottom. That’s why professional ballet dancers and skaters, who use tremendous power in their leg extensions to propel themselves forward, will always have a great butt. Now, to be honest, I doubt many of us would aspire to a Kim Kardashion type bottom… so we’ll leave it there. In my day we wanted it to be small but firm!
The Chest
If you like to work with weights or machines in the gym then the ‘chest press’ and ‘chest flies’ will do the job nicely. Men always like to focus a lot on the chest muscles when in the gym as they like strong pecs, but for women too it is an important area. By loading the pectoral muscles of the chest, you can seriously 'lift' the breasts giving them a much firmer look. There is also the added bonus of firming the inner arm for when you wear sleeveless tops or dresses.
The Underarms
The underarm muscles (the triceps) always tend to be weak and untoned (hence the term batwings!) simply because in everyday life we use them very little. Therefore, the need to work on them specifically is very important. We can do many set triceps exercises using weights but I am a great believer in the good old 'press-up' using our own body weight to tone and tighten this area. The fantastic thing about this exercise is that it equally works the pectorals and the triceps at the same time – a win/win exercise in my book!
If you have been neglecting some of these key areas recently, I hope this inspires you to introduce them into your workouts on a regular basis. The ‘whole-body approach’ is, without doubt, the very best way to go and then you will be sure to know you are truly fit!
