Monthly Archives: May 2015

Shoulder Workout with 5 Bonza Exercises

By | Workouts | No Comments

How much do you do on a daily basis that requires your shoulders to move or lift? We use our shoulders often, here is a workout to strengthen your shoulders.

Our shoulders have the biggest range of motion of any joint in the body. And, the  muscles that attach at the shoulder to move properly should be strong. Here are 5 shoulder exercises that makes a great workout and strengthen those muscles.

But, for most of us (especially those of us that sit behind a desk all day), it can be one of the weakest areas in the body. Compound that with weak, abused, ill-used muscles and your shoulders are an injury waiting to happen. That is why a good shoulder workout is important.

At Bonza Bodies Small Group Fitness Studio we believe in functional fitness. That means, our personal and small group class instructors are trained to get, and keep, our bodies ready for real world use and movement. Shoulders get the brunt of a lot of our daily activities and not nearly enough love! But, fear not! Here are 5 of our favorite workouts for strong, functional shoulders. Workouts like these will keep your posture right, your shoulders injury free, and rockin’ the tank tops!IMG_1121

1) Sun Blocker Workout– Stand with feet shoulder width apart holding a pair of dumbbells or weights of some sort. Holding the dumbbells at shoulder height squat and as you return to standing rotate your upper body to the right and fully extend your right arm back and up. Make sure to keep your head turned toward the arm that is extending and keep your eyes on your hand. Repeat to the left! Oh, and this can be done without the squat if your knees are a little tweaky.

 

 

IMG_11312) Reverse Push-Up Workout– Using a TRX, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and in a slow, controlled movement lean back until your arms are fully extended. Then using your arms, shoulders and core, return to standing, separating your hands and pulling to either side of the chest. If this is too easy shift your feet several inches in front
of you and repeat until you are engaging your entire upper body! The tilt back has to be slow and controlled though, otherwise you’re losing some of the benefits of this shoulder blasting workout!

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3) High Plank with Rotation Workout– Starting in a 4 point plank without shoulder width apart, lift your right hand and rotate it towards the ceiling. As you rotate your shoulder let your heels fall to the side and your upper body rotate to the right to allow full expression and range in the pose. This exercise strengthens the muscles that stabilize your shoulder and can really increase your range of motion! Repeat with the other arm! A great modification, if you find this a little too challenging, is bringing the knee of the down leg to the floor!

 

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4) Deltoid Strengthener Workout- Standing with your feet shoulder width apart and holding a dumbbell in each hand, start with your wrists/palms facing out and arms at your side. Keeping your arms fully extended bring your hands to shoulder level. As you are raising your arms rotate your hands so they end up palm down.

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5) Standing with your feet slightly apart, hold a sandbell or other weight that can be held in one hand. While standing in place press up with the arm holding the weight and bring the same leg up simultaneously. You can extend your other arm out the side slightly to help you balance. To give this exercise a little boost press the weight up at the end of a lunge! Repeat on the opposite side

 

 

You will do all of these exercises and more with our world class personal trainers at Bonza Bodies Small Group Fitness Studio in downtown Denver! Come take a class with us using our Free 10 Day Trial or you can email us for more information at info@bonzabodies.com!

Stay True To Your Goals

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5 Ways To Beat Muscle Soreness

By | Core Training, Pyramid Fat Burning, run training, Tighten Up, Workouts, yoga | No Comments

It’s normal to be sore after a hardcore workout, so here are 5 ways to beat muscle soreness.

Especially a Bonza Bodies Small Group Fitness workout like the Tighten Up class!

But when you’re feeling it the next day, or even later on that day, how do you get your muscles to stop yelling at you?

1) Sometimes, your muscles are going to be sore and it may not be from overuse. Try doing some light exercise! I know, it sounds like the last thing you want to do but seriously, give it a try! Light exercise will get the blood pumping and warm up your muscles, which will loosen them back up! Be careful though! Fatigued muscles a more likely to be injured or cause injuries in other places from over compensation.

2) Break out the ice! My favorite way to beat sore legs is to do a cold water bath right after my Run Training class at Bonza Bodies. And while I don’t recommend taking a full on cold shower after a workout (brrrrrr!!!!!!!), a little cold therapy on your legs or arms, after you’ve allowed your muscles to sufficiently cool down from your workout, can do wonders for sore muscles. Want to give Bonza’s Run Training a try, try out Bonza with our FREE Trial Membership

3) Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! You’ve just sweat a good bit, I’m guessing, and that can leave your muscles a bit sad and dry. Muscle soreness doesn’t necessarily mean your dehydrated but if you’re not drinking enough water that will definitely slow down your recovery from that rockin’ Pyramid Fat Burner class you just did at Bonza Bodies!

4) Soak it all up! Or you know, take a warm bath with some epsom salts. Epsom salts are phenomenal for muscle soreness, they draw out all the toxins left behind from an intense workout! These toxins, known as lactic acid, build up in the muscles after an intense workout and the magnesium in the epsom salts will help the body dispel of this! Added bonus: epsom salts are extremely inexpensive to buy! Yay!

5) Yoga anyone? Yep, yoga is another great way to beat muscle soreness. Yoga is all about stretching and moving and holding long poses. These long poses give your muscles a chance to gently unwind as you breathe and rejuvenate! A restorative yoga class is a great option as well! It gives you an chance to stretch and breath, as in a normal yoga class, but all of the poses are completely supported! So you can relax completely into the pose!

Whatever the cause and cure of your muscle soreness, the world class personal trainers at Bonza Bodies Small Group Fitness Studio are there to help you through it! Even if we did cause it! Don’t be afraid to ask out trainers for modifications or any questions you may have! And if you haven’t had sore muscles in awhile and want to feel the burn again come on in for a FREE Trial Membership ! If you are interested in learning more please contact us at info@bonzabodies.com. And, as always, Stay True To Your Goals:

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