Pump up Your Workout Routine

Working out and exercising have come a long way since the Jane Fonda days. Instead of having to go to a gym or buy expensive workout videos that will surely begin to clutter the house, those who are fans of working out can now get non-stop access to aerobics, weight training, and pretty much any other kind of exercise they could imagine. The dawn of niche television allows channels like The History Channel, Food Network and FitTV to bring hard-core history buffs, foodies and exercise fanatics their fill and them some of their hobby/obsession of choice.

FitTV shows episode after episode of instructional exercise segments, each geared to a certain exercise style and fitness level. One show may teach belly dancing, and in the next a group of gleeful, spandex- and Lycra-clad Nordic people teach cardio with Kilawea and the Hawaiian coast in the background.

Julie Almeida, the personal fitness guru for the Examiner.com-Birmingham, recommends a show with an up-tempo workout: “Hip-Hop Dance with Madonna Grimes”. The show is a feature of the All-Star Workout Segment. Almeida gives readers a run-down of the workout. She adds the moves are not only good for workouts, but also go from the workout studio to the dance club. She says her favorite move is called the “chicken head”. While most people associate a dance by this name with the dancer moving their head like a chicken, Almeida says this particular move has the dancer moving “like a chicken with your head cut off”. She also adds one of the main benefits is the cardio workout.

Almeida reports the workout is not only fun, but covers the general core areas of the body. With the warm-up, she says, Grimes teaches a move called the “chest pump” which loosens the upper portion of the body for the next phase of the workout, the dance portion. The next segment, Almeida says is longer, and where the meat of the workout is. In this segment Grimes teaches the actual dance routine. Finally, she says, the workout ends with a set that works out the abdominal muscles. The session Almeida tested worked out her oblique muscles, more popularly referred to as “love handles”. She says the continuous movement throughout this portion of the workout is the cause of muscle burn, but better results.

For many people, sticking to a workout routine is not easy. When the workout is enjoyable, it helps. Having a workout buddy is another good way to keep yourself on track. The continuous workouts offered by FitTV promote a healthy lifestyle for those who want to keep in shape. For those with busy or odd schedules, the program line-up allows them to choose when they will “attend” their workouts. This would definitely be an incentive for those who cannot make it to a gym when it is open, or who prefer to workout in the privacy of their own home.

Image courtesy sxc/pacapa
Trina L. Grant is a fitness and social media blogger, as well as a freelance writer and editor. You can find more information about these as well as all things freelance writing on her website and blog.