Author: Tatiana Nezhinskaya
25 Jun. 2019

Alina Savenkova: Get your body ready for summer!

In winter, we all look forward to summer and dream big, but summer always comes unexpectedly and takes us by surprise. And we realize that a busy work schedule and daily routine left no time for the revolutionary changes in our lifestyle we have been dreaming. We asked Alina Savenkova, a trainer at GYMMAXX Fitness Center, for advice on how to get in shape fast. Here is her action plan:

– I would suggest a set of exercises to work out your major muscle groups. This training will fit into any schedule, as it takes 40 to 50 minutes a day. Another plus is that you can do the exercises at home without any equipment. This set will boost your vigor and give you the feeling of lightness helping to tone up muscles and slim down. But remember that a healthy well-balanced diet is your best route to building your dream body. Eat fewer calories than you burn to achieve your cherished goal!

Tips and exercises to do:

1. Do exercises in sports shoes.

2. Do not exercise on an empty stomach.

3. Always have a bottle of water at hand.

4. Warm up your joints before exercising (start with repeated circular motions with your arms and legs).

5. Proceed to the first exercise.

1. Running in place

Start with walking in place and gradually increase the movement amplitude of your arms and legs. After 30 to 40-second workout, proceed to light jogging in place to warm up your muscles. Gradually increase the speed to warm up for 5 minutes. It is crucial to slow down and go back to walking in place gradually. As soon as your breathing normalizes, proceed to the next exercise.

2. Floor back extensions

This exercise works out deep back and abdominal muscles.

Lie face down with your whole body straight and pull your abs in. Put your palms under your forehead with your elbows outwards. Look to the floor, keep your neck straight. Then, as you exhale, slowly raise your body by 2 or 3 cm, put your shoulder blades together and move your elbows back. At the top point, hold up for 1 or 2 seconds and, as you exhale, go back to the starting position.

To keep your neck straight, imagine that you are an arrow, and the crown of your head is the arrowhead (every time try to pull forward a little). Your shoulders down, the collar area relaxed.

Important! Don’t raise your body too much. Try not to rest the upper body entirely onto the mat. Keep your feet on the ground.

20 reps

3. Folding exercise

While sitting on the mat, round your back (to unload your spine) and pull your abs in. At this point, focus as much as you can on your abdominal muscles. Raise your legs, bend your knees slightly, and straighten your arms in front of you.

As you inhale, slowly lower down without relaxing the abs. When your shoulder blades touch the floor, go back to the starting position as you exhale. Hold up for 1 or 2 seconds and repeat the exercise.

Remember to rest on your upper buttocks, not on your back. Try to keep the balance.

20 to 30 reps

4. Bicycle

The bicycle exercise is the most advanced isolating exercise for the abs.

Lie on the back with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands behind your head; do not interlock your fingers. Keep your knees bent a little, and your abs pulled in.

The idea of this exercise is that you alternately touch the opposite knee with the opposite elbow and simultaneously straighten the other leg: your left elbow – to your right knee with the left leg straightened, and vice versa. Go through a bicycle motion with your legs.

50 reps

5. Bents forward on one knee

Stand up straight with legs hip-distance apart, the abs pulled in, and your back straight. While standing on your right foot (the working leg), transfer the weight of your body to the heel and middle of the foot, and relax your toes. Keeping your back straight, lean your body forward. As soon as your body becomes parallel to the ground and you feel the stretching of the back surface of your hip and buttock, as you exhale tightly press your heel to the ground, strain your buttock, go back to the starting position, and put the left knee forward. Every time you repeat this exercise, pull back with your buttocks as much as you can.

Important! While rising, keep your back neutral. If you round your back, you may strain it, and your buttocks will not work out as well as they should. Keep the knee of the supporting leg slightly bent and do not straighten it.

20 reps

6. Lunges back

Lunges are the ultimate exercise to get beautiful legs and firm thighs and buttocks. Do this exercise using your body weight or various loads, such as dumbbells.

Stand flat with your feet hip-distance apart. To do the exercise correctly and maintain the balance, keep your abs pulled in and back straight. As you inhale, put your left foot back to the toe, squatting with the right (working) leg. As you exhale, push your right leg up. Keep your body straight; do not bend down or over. Your knee and toe should be aligned and form an angle of 90 degrees.

Focus on what you are doing: at the lowest point, you will feel how back muscles of your hip and buttocks of the working leg stretch and how the muscles contract as you raise your body. Do not lower your head and do not look at your feet, as this will round your back and reduce performance.

20 reps on each leg

7. Bench dips

Sit on a bench (or a chair if you are exercising at home). Place your hands under the shoulder joints; keep palms down and fingers forward. Put your heels on the ground and bend your knees a little. Keep your back straight, shoulders down.

While raising your buttocks from the bench, transfer the weight of your body to your arms. As you inhale, go down by bending your elbows. When your elbow joint makes an angle of 90 degrees, go back to the starting position as you exhale. Once you have returned to the starting position, do not unbend the arms to the full and repeat the exercise.

Important! Do not put your elbows sidewards – put your elbows back and do not go down too low. Your back should have an upward trajectory. Do not slouch. Alternatively, open the chest forwards. It is essential to transfer the weight of your body to your arms, and do not rest your feet against the ground. Keep your legs relaxed.

15 to 20 reps

8. Side lunges

This exercise works out the inner thighs and helps to enhance blood flow in the saddlebags.

Stand up straight with your legs hip-distance apart, the abs pulled in and back flat. As you inhale, lunge to the side by transferring the weight of your body to the right leg, bending the knee, and straightening the left leg. Do not forget to lean forward and take the pelvis back. Then, as you exhale, go back into the stand on the left leg by pushing the supporting leg (right) and raise the right leg in front of you with the right knee bent.

Important! Be sure that the knee of the supporting leg does not go beyond the toes as this may be harmful to the knee joint. As a preventive measure, move the pelvis back and put the weight of your body on the heel and middle of your foot rather than on the toes. Your step sideways should be wide to work out your hip muscles as much as possible.

20 reps on each leg

9. Knee pushups (with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart)

This is a basic exercise that does not require any special equipment and is suitable for exercising at home.

Get on your knees. Your arms are straight with palms rested wider than shoulder-width apart. In the starting position, the body line from the shoulders to the knees should be straight. To align your body, lower your buttocks, and pull the abs in. Make sure your palms are aligned with your chest.

As you inhale, bend your elbows and lower your body while keeping your body straight. You should feel how your pectoral muscles stretch. When your elbow joints make an angle of 90 degrees, raise your body to the starting position as you exhale and feel the tension in the muscles of your arms and chest.

Important! Do not go down too low as this may harm the elbow joints. Do not straighten elbow joints completely when lifting up.

15 to 20 reps

10. Glute bridge

Take a prone lying position. Keep your arms straight extended along your torso. Bend your knees with your feet rested on the ground, hip-distance width apart. Put your heels slightly beyond the level of the knee.

As you exhale, tense your muscles as much as you can, press your heels against the floor and raise your pelvis. At your maximum height, hold up for 2 or 3 seconds to feel the tension in the back hip muscles and buttocks. As you inhale, go back to the starting position moving slowly down. Without touching the ground with your buttocks, repeat the exercise.

Important! Do not arch your back too much; keep thoracic and lumbar regions straight. Keep your heels on the ground, and do not stand on the toes.

If you relax your fingers, toes, and the collar area (neck), you can work out the target muscles much better.

15 to 20 reps

Once you have done these ten quite simple but efficient exercises, proceed to the second round of exercising to do at least three workouts a day.

Be healthy and beautiful!

Photo: Oleksandr Serbinov

Filming & editing: Vlad Pustovit​

Location: space Gymmaxx

Translation: Global Translation Services 1+1

Production: MilliON

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