For years, trainers and athletes have said that to build lean, toned muscles, you should lift light weights and do lots of reps. To build big, bulky muscles, you lift heavier weights and do fewer reps. Some studies have called that philosophy into question lately, suggesting that lifting heavy weights doesn’t necessarily make you look like the Hulk.

So is there still a value to the light weight, high rep workout style? A recent study says yes. The study, conducted in the Netherlands, showed that lifting light weights can be just as effective in building muscle tone as lifting heavier weights. What really matters is that you work until the point of exercise-induced fatigue – that means that the last two or three reps should be hard.

This is great news for people who’d like to tone up, but don’t often lift weights. The heavier the weight, the more you risk injuring yourself. With a lighter weight, you can get the same results without the danger. Light weight exercise is also perfect for people who are recovering from injuries, as a way to ease back into exercise.

Doctors say that if you really want to stimulate muscle tone (and save yourself from boredom) the best thing to do is to change your exercise routine up. Alternate between lifting heavier weights and doing fewer reps, and lifting lighter weights and doing more reps. The moral of the story? If you want to get into great shape and have the muscles to show it, you don’t have to grunt and struggle like that obnoxious guy at the gym.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock]

Lets face it. Most of us hate going to the gym. It’s sometimes fun if you know there’s going to be someone you like there or if you just updated your iPod. But most of the time it’s a struggle just to change into your workout clothes.  Not only do you have to worry about getting bored within five minutes, you also have to worry about the people you’ll run into and deal with at the gym.

Here’s a list of 10 people who make your gym experience that much worse… Read More »

We all deal with it. Waving down a taxi, cheering during a football game or flagging down that cute guy in your chem class. It’s known as under arm flab or simply a trouble spot in the tricep area. It’s frustrating to deal with this, when all you want to do is to wear sleeveless dresses and wave your hands like you just don’t care! No worries, try out these fun moves and you’ll be good in no time. Combine these strength moves with a cardio routine to see quick results. Remember, exercising is only half of the equation. Proper nutrition and post-workout food recovery is also essential.

Stay fabulous and sexy, CC girls!

1. Half cobra push-up

Read More »

During the school year, eating well and exercising can feel like a real challenge. Going out with friends or sleeping in late is often so much more appealing than dragging yourself to the gym, and at 2:00 a.m. after hours of reading, that bag of chocolate chip cookies is just…so…tempting!

We’ve all heard that we should try to avoid the dreaded “Freshman Fifteen” (which is actually more like the “Freshman Seven”), but there are other important benefits to maintaining a good nutrition and exercise routine. The better you treat your body, the better you will feel. The better you feel, the more successful you’ll be in school and the more energy you’ll have for the really fun stuff. Read on to learn how you can use the latest discoveries in health and fitness to stay healthy, happy, and motivated this school year.

1.     Cut down on time at the gym with interval workouts.

Intervals have long been an important part of many exercise routines. But a new study has shown that intense interval workouts may be just as effective as time-consuming endurance training. The study divided its subjects, healthy college students, into two groups. One group rode a stationary bike at a sustained pace for 90 to 120 minutes three times per week. The other group pedaled as hard as they could for 20 to 30 seconds, with short breaks in between, for a total of about six minutes of intense riding per day. The result? The students who rode intervals showed just a much of an increase in their endurance as the students who did sustained training, and showed the same molecular indicators of increased fitness in their muscles. Read More »

Okay, so I guess I’m a gym rat. I am the one who loves to get to my campus fitness center when it opens at 6:30 in the morning (and who was infuriated when the opening was delayed from 6:00 a.m.). And I have tried just about every class and machine offered on the commercial market. At various times in my life, I have been the yoga class-clown who slips out of downward dog — and eventually the student fellow classmates look to as a model.

I like to say I’ve seen a lot of different ways of exercising and done a lot of different exercises, which means I’ve made every mistake imaginable along the way. So, whether you are prepping to take advantage of your school’s gym in the fall or you want to work off some summer puff while the sun is still shining, I offer you a few suggestions to make your return to the gym a great success: Read More »

So you think celebs get out of bed all skinny and perfect and shiny? Well, maybe they do. But because everyone loves to stalk celebs at every single moment in their lives, we also know that they hit up the gym sometimes just to keep up appearances.

For some reason, there seem to be a LOT of pictures of only a few celebs leaving the gym floating around the internet. Where are your super secret workout spots located, everyone else??

Anyway, here are a few of our fav celebs post-workin’ on their fitness.

Whether you want one as big as Kim Kardashian’s or something more subtle like J-Lo’s (ok, it’s not that subtle, but in comparison…) I have the perfect plan for you. While squats and lunges are my quick go-to favorite, they can get a little boring. Here are some easy ways to spice up your workout routine.

1) Fire Hydrant

Read More »

This past week, I attended the IHRSA fitness convention here in San Francisco. Besides ogling all of the ridiculously ripped trainers, I got a sneak peek at our industry’s latest innovations. Boy, is there a lot of new equipment out there! So long to those boring dumbbells and hello to these quirky new toys.

Just last February, I was planning my 21^st birthday party. Now, I’m facing 22 (or as I like to call it 21+1) straight on. Even though the last twelve months have gone by, it feels like just yesterday I was indulging in jello shots and margaritas. For my 21st. Because just yesterday I was indulging in jello shots and margaritas.

Looking back, though, much has happened in the past year. It seems I’ve learned a lot while Ke$ha put a dollar sign in her name and started brushing her teeth with a “bottle of Jack,” John Mayer proclaimed that he is on the search for “the Joshua Tree of vaginas,” and the Jersey Shore became a national phenomenon.

So here (in no particular order) is what I know for certain after turning 21. Perhaps you youngsters can take a few things from this:

1. Friendships should make you happy — not pissed off : Friends should be so much more than people you dance on tables with and dish about the weekend to. They should be there for you, and you should be there for them. They also should not steal your alcohol on your 21^st birthday and make out with the fraternity guy, all while puking as your boyfriend helps take care of them.

2. Raincoats are amazing: They are often understated and overwhelmingly overlooked when it comes to fashion. But even if they aren’t fashionable, really, you can’t complain when that slicker keeps your from frizzing. Without a rain jacket I wouldn’t have made it through the summer in London. And I think it actually kept me going to class this past semester. Why didn’t I realize this sooner? It doesn’t matter if you have a basic from Lands End or a super sexy trench from Dillards, just get one!

3. Go to the gym: Surprisingly enough, it is worth your time. Who knew? I sure didn’t, until I started going religiously with my boyfriend back in September. If you actually go to the gym and do more than hang out on the treadmill and elliptical for thirty minutes, you can see results. Plus, it teaches you patience on so many different levels.

Read More »

It’s hard to believe when you’ve got snow melting into your Uggs, but Spring Break is just around the corner. For me, a girl who has a countdown to the next Spring Break starting the day Spring Break ends, that news couldn’t be better. But for those of you who are having that “OMG I HAVE TO BE IN A SWIMSUIT IN 6 WEEKS?!” meltdown, this is less than a pleasant realization.

If you fall into the latter category, you’ve probably gone into workout/diet overload.

“I’m going to exercise every day and eat salad for breakfast/lunch/dinner so I can look like a Vicky Secret model in Cancun!!”

Optimistic? Yes.
Realistic? Uh, are you kidding?

Our society has always had this huge obsession with quick fix diets and weight loss plans. Unfortunately, they don’t work. The truth is, there’s no one thing to eat or one exercise to do in order to get your dream body. And all those plans that promise you to “lose 10 pounds in 10 days!” might work, but they’re not permanent and they’re definitely not healthy. So if you’re trying to get 6-pack abs and thighs that don’t touch by the time you’ve got to wiggle into that bikini in March, stop. It’s not gonna happen.

Instead, let’s work together to set some more realistic fitness goals that you can actually attain between now and the 24/7 happy hour we like to call Spring Break. Read More »