Wait...Is Toning Even Real? Here's What Trainers Want You to Know
It turns out, "toning" has been misunderstood for quite some time. ... "Scientifically speaking, muscles don't tone, they grow or shrink." Denise Chakoian, a certified personal trainer and cancer exercise specialist adds that many people think of "toning" as way to achieve an aesthetic preference, meaning they want to see "lean muscularity." That typically involves building muscle and burning fat.
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The Frogger Is the Perfect Middle Ground Between a Plank and a Burpee
Even though the frogger exercise nixes the quick vertical jump included in a burpee, it's no walk in the park. It's a full-body exercise that relies heavily on your core, says Denise Chakoian, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the owner of CORE Cycle.Fitness.Lagree in Providence, Rhode Island. The core, consisting of muscles on the front and backside of your trunk, supports and stabilizes the spine. During a frogger, the muscle group lights up to keep you stable in the high plank position, protect your spine as you hop your feet forward and backward, and transfer the force generated from your lower body during the hop to your upper body as you lift your hands and chest.
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Step-Ups Are Secretly One of the Best Glute Moves You Can Do. Here’s How
Step-ups are a really diverse move, Chakoian says, with near infinite ways to perform them. This simple, intermediate version could be considered the core version of the step-up—but we’ve outlined more variations below.
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Best Pull-up Bars of 2024
Denise Chakoian, certified personal trainer (CPT) and owner and founder of CORE Studio in Providence, Rhode Island, says this pull-up bar is the best, most secure model she’s used. The bar earns raves from reviewers for its sturdiness thanks to its thick steel construction and bar couplers, which add stability. For setup, it requires no screws or drilling. One of the standouts of this model is its curved design that allows for 10 inches of wall clearance, giving users – including taller individuals – a full range of motion with ample headroom.
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