Muscle & Fitness Hers South Africa May 2022

OUR MODEL: Melissa Trapani“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…

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…

Florencia, such an honour to have you on Muscle &Fitness Hers, 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? Since I was 15 years old, I worked as a model in my hometown (Córdoba, Argentina) in modeling and fashion. After finishing high school, I continued my education with a university degree, a Bachelor of Nutrition. Throughout my career as a model, I have traveled a lot to beautiful places that have been a great learning experience in my life. And that is how, working as a model, I began to discover my passion for communicating when I had the opportunity to host a fitness TV program. I liked…

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 would…

Just as a business needs a plan to map its growth, your body needs a fitness plan. That’s where periodisation comes in. A long-term, cyclical training strategy meant to maximise gains, prevent injury, and avoid plateaus by varying time, volume, and intensity, periodisation can help those just starting out to safely progress and allow avid exercisers to see continued improvements. Most periodisation plans cycle between a build phase of mostly higher-intensity workouts and a taper phase and recovery period. Before you begin, take a moment to define your goals, whether it’s prepping for a competition, training for a race, or reducing body fat and adding muscle. Then think about your time frame—how long do you have to reach your primary goal? Finally, write down the increase in weights or reps,…

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…