Muscle & Fitness Hers South Africa May - June 2021

Everyone has their own special story about how they got involved in health and fitness. Could you tell us a little bit about your journey to where you are today? I have always been interested in health and fitness since my late teens. I would always love the way the females would look so strong and sexy. Aside of that, I wanted to look and feel good too. I started my fit journey when I started my mainstream career in movies and commercials. I was born and raised in South Florida where the weather is beautiful, the people are glamourous, and many opportunities. I was able to use my fitness expertise and skills during a rough patch in life and it basically kept me sane. After 20 years of practicing…

“FITNESS EMPOWERS ME. EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF MY LIFE FALLS INTO PLACE WHEN I AM TRAINING.” IT’S NOT EASY getting a body like Madonna—at 57, she’s got the strength, stamina, and muscle tone of a fit woman half her age. Her intense work ethic plays a big part, but her personal trainer, Craig Smith, also gets credit for keeping her fit and energized. “Our workouts are designed to support what she does onstage, which means a mix of endurance, flexibility and mobility, stability, balance, and resistance training,” says Smith, who is also the creative director of Hard Candy Fitness, a chain of fitness studios created by Madonna in 2010. The pop icon, who kicks off her 42-city Rebel Heart worldwide tour this month, regularly follows workouts like this fast and…

Reverse Crunch to Heels Up Lie faceup on floor with legs extended, feet lifted above hips and flexed. Keep arms at sides with palms down. Using your lower abdominals, lift your hips off the floor, bringing heels toward ceiling. Slowly lower back down and repeat for a total of 30 seconds. Hands Back with Knee Tucks Sit on the floor with legs extended, knees slightly bent. Place hands behind you, palms down below shoulders and elbows bent behind you. Lift heels and lean back, engaging abdominals. Pull knees into chest. Extend legs forward, keeping them about 45 degrees to floor. Pull legs back to chest and repeat for a total of 30 seconds. Side Plank with Hip Drive Lie on right side with shoulders, hips and legs stacked, right forearm…

MARIA V., STOCKTON, CA “I’m a 44-year-old grandmother. I’m weigh about 68 kilos. I work out three days a week, focusing on the upper body. My goal is to lose weight and sculpt muscle all over.” OUR EXPERT SAYS Congrats on being such an active grandmother! You’re working out often enough to meet your weight loss and muscle development goals but need to focus on the quality of your training and nutrition. For workouts, try to include compound (multijoint) exercises for upper and lower body, done at a high enough intensity that you feel fully fatigued by the end of each set. Progression is critical: Every four weeks, increase the weight while hitting the rep counts outlined here. To help keep your diet on track, use a food log. I…

THE MOST overlooked — and underrated — cardio machine in the gym just might be the indoor rower. Also known as an ergometer (or “erg” among enthusiasts), the rower offers a high-intensity, full-body burn: A 64 kilogram woman rowing at a good pace can blast 119 calories in only 15 minutes. “Rowing is multifaceted in its benefits—there is virtually no impact, it can be as intense as you want, and it’s versatile enough for any fitness level,” says Arielle Childs, a fitness instructor. Many think of rowing as primarily an upper-body work-out, but it actually works the entire body, including your upper back, shoulders, arms, core, glutes, hips, and especially legs. Before you hop on a machine and start pulling, keep in mind that form is the key to getting…

WARMUP (8 TO 10 MIN.): Get on the erg and focus on the parts of stroke and recovery to improve technique. PYRAMID: Focus on increasing your stroke rate by taking about 10 to 15 strong strokes at the following pace (strokes per minute): 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 20. Strength moves: Hop off the rower and do the following exercises for 45 seconds each: pushups, squats, crunches, planks. POWER INTERVALS: Pick up the pace and row for 20 seconds (try to maintain a 24 to 26 stroke rate), then recover for 20 seconds; repeat. Then row hard for 40 seconds, with 20 seconds of recovery, two times. Finish with 60 seconds of hard rowing, with a 20-second recovery after each. Strength moves: Hop off the…