5 Calorie-Torching CrossFit Workouts to Try

Haven’t tried CrossFit yet? If not, you’re missing out! It’s a high-intensity workout that gives you fast results, so it’s no surprise it’s so popular right now. And with the 2014 CrossFit Games having wrapped up recently, there’s even more of a reason to give it a try for yourself.

If you’re not quite ready to check out your local box, you can get a taste of what CrossFit is all about with one of these workouts that you can do at home or at the gym. Instructions follow each list of exercises.

Get a full-body workout in just 10 minutes! Set a timer for 10 minutes and try to do as many rounds as possible of 10 Medicine Ball Thrusters, 10 Push-Ups, and 10 Lateral Burpees without taking too much time to rest between exercises. If you push yourself, I guarantee you’ll get a great full-body workout in a short amount of time!

You can work your entire body with just 4 exercises. Try to do as many rounds of the following moves without taking too much time to rest between exercises. Set a timer for 15 minutes and then start with 15 Kettlebell Swings. When you finish, move immediately to 10 Burpees, then 15 Air Squats, and finally 10 Push-Ups. When you finish all 4 exercises, you’ve completed 1 round. Be sure to keep track of your rounds and reps, so the next time you do this workout, you can try to do more!

Everyone has 10 minutes, right? Even though this kettlebell workout is just 10 minutes, you’ll feel like you had a much longer sweat session. Grab a medium-weight kettlebell and try to do as many rounds of 10 Kettlebell Swings, 8 Goblet Squats, and 6 Burpees as possible in 10 minutes.

Rise ‘n’ shine! It’s exercise time! This workout doesn’t require any equipment, so you can do it just about anywhere. You just need a little bit of space. Perform all of the reps for each exercise for before moving onto the next one. So, for example, do all 80 Air Squats before starting the 40 Burpees and so on. Unsure how to do some of the exercises? Check out these video demonstrations: Air Squats, Burpees, Hand Release Push-ups, Sit-Ups, Hollow Rocks.

Start off the work week with this “Monday” WOD (“Workout of the Day). For this workout, you need a kettlebell and a rowing machine (erg). Here’s how this workout works: Set a timer and then perform 30 reps of Kettlebell Swings, 30 reps of Goblet Squats, and then hop on the rower and row until you’ve reached 30 calories. Then, perform 20 reps of Kettlebell Swings and Goblet Squats and row 20 calories on the rower. Finish the workout with 10 reps of each exercise and 10 calories on the rower.

RELATED: How to Do the Perfect Push-Up

Read Tina’s daily food and fitness blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake.

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How to Use a Rowing Machine in 6 Easy Steps

No longer just the weird machine collecting dust in the corner of your gym, rowing is becoming increasingly popular thanks to CrossFit and workout studios that either include or are entirely dedicated to the simple rowing machine, or ergometer. And for a good reason—an hour on the machine can burn up to a whopping 800 calories.

Plus: “It requires almost all the muscles in our body, so it really is one of the most effective workouts,” according to Annie Mulgrew, program director at CityRow, a rowing studio in New York City.

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But unlike jumping on the treadmill or spinning away on a stationary bike, it takes a little extra knowledge to use a rowing machine. So Mulgrew broke down the rowing stroke to help you become the expert of your gym—and maybe even get you out on the water.

“At CityRow, we have this great hashtag, #legscorearms. Keep that in mind as we go through the stroke step-by-step,” she says.

 

 

Get your feet locked in

Start by strapping your feet into the pads. The strap should sit across your foot bed, making sure it’s tight enough that your feet won’t slide around.

 

 

Grab hold

This is the starting point for your stroke, called the catch (because when you’re rowing in a boat, it’s the moment when your blade enters the water). Bring your knees up and reach for the handlebar at the front of the machine. Your torso should be just slightly tilted forward over your legs, but focus on keeping your spine straight with good posture.

Tip: Imagine there’s a steel bar extending from your butt up straight through the top of your head. Your spine does actually bend at any point in the stroke; you’re just hinging forward at your hips.

RELATED: 4 Exercises to Beat a Fitness Plateau

 

 

Start with your legs

Here’s where #legscorearms comes into play. Beginning with your leg muscles, push off the footplate, really using your hamstrings.

Tip: Most people think rowing mostly uses your arm muscles, but that’s a total misnomer! It’s actually about 60% legs, 20% core, and 20% follow through with the arms and shoulders, she says. So concentrate on your legs when you push off from the catch.

 

 

Engage your core

Focusing on your core muscles, start to lean backward into a 45-degree angle. When you’re almost to that angle, pull the handlebar back toward you, hitting your chest (lightly!) with it right around the bottom of your sports bra.

RELATED: 10 Exercise Cheats That Blow Your Calorie Burn

 

 

Keep your shoulders working

Now you’re in what’s called the finish. Keep your shoulder blades together here, and really think about how your core muscles are holding your body up into that slight angle.

 

 

Reverse the movement

Then you basically reverse that movement back up to the catch. Extend your arms out first, and start pulling your torso forward as you bend your knees, bringing your legs up to the top of the machine. And that’s one full stroke!

Tip: Try not to shift around on the seat—you’ll starting twisting in the wrong way—think of your butt as glued to that plastic.

RELATED: 17 Ways to Lose Weight When You Have No Time

 

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5 Things to Know Before Your First Orangetheory Class

So many buzzy new workouts, so little time. But we promise, Orangetheory Fitness deserves a spot near the top of your list of sweat tests this year for its smart system and crazy calorie burn.

While it’s not brand new—Orangetheory is close to celebrating its sixth anniversary with more than 330 studios in 28 states, and more overseas—the company only recently opened in big cities like New York and Los Angeles. And it has quickly become a known name (and color) in even the most competitive fitness-focused metropolises. (According to Google, it was one of the 10 Biggest Workout Trends of 2015.)

The model is smart and simple: Enthusiastic, experienced instructors plus a heart-rate monitored cardio and strength session equals max results in just an hour. Here’s everything a first-timer should know before joining the “orange nation.”

RELATED: Drop an Entire Dress Size With This Speedy Strength Workout

It’s a perfect option for gym-goers who hate group exercise classes

The hour blends the perks of traditional workout classes (think good music and an energetic leader) and the one-on-one benefits of small-group personal training.

The instructors remember every client’s name, make an effort to cheer you on and give you constructive feedback during class, and urge everyone to work within their personal fitness level. This means you won’t be overwhelmed by confusing choreography, annoyed by close quarters, or trampled by the stampede rushing to grab the last medicine ball. Everyone goes to work within their own station, complete with various sets of weights, TRX straps, a step, and more.

You need to get there (really) early

You’ll receive a welcome email or text message a day or two before your scheduled class, and the message will instruct you to arrive 30 minutes before the start time. Even if you’re experienced using just about any gym tool and have tried every workout under the sun, that half hour is crucial at Orangetheory.

You need about 10 minutes to introduce yourself at the front desk and fill out paperwork. Then, the trainer will chat with you about the types of workouts you do and your fitness goals (as a top-tier trainer should). Are you an Olympic rower? It doesn’t matter; your instructor will want to check out and assist with your form on the WaterRower and also give you a rundown of class lingo (you’ll hear terms like “base push” and “all out” throughout the hour).

You don’t have to memorize everything; there are television screens around the studio that show both a graphic of the move and number of reps per set while you’re doing strength on the floor and treadmill signs hanging on the mirror to guide your speed choices.

RELATED: 10 Exercise Cheats That Blow Your Calorie Burn

It helps to have an understanding of HIIT

High-intensity interval training focuses on working at an all-out effort for shorter intervals of time in order to shoot your heart rate up, followed by brief periods of active recovery. Studies have continuously shown that HIIT is an extremely efficient way to maximize calorie burn.

That’s the name of the game at Orangetheory: the fitness philosophy, or “orange effect,” is based on maximizing excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or afterburn. Each class has you bouncing back and forth between cardio and strength intervals in order to spike metabolism and boost your energy.

You may develop a love-hate relationship with the heart-rate monitor

Before you start class, a staffer will provide a heart-rate monitor that you strap right beneath your bust, directly on your skin. The goal is to work in your “orange zone”—which is 84-91% of your max heart rate—for 12 to 20 minutes during the class. How do you know where you stand? There’s an overhead screen that displays a chart with everybody’s name, vitals, and progression between the five “zones” (grey, blue, green, orange and red) in real time. This is both good and bad (depending on how much you like a competitive atmosphere): it means if you start slacking off, everyone in class will know it.

The major pro, however: Wearing the monitor makes you much more in tune with just how hard you’re working at any given time, and your results are emailed to you after class so you can see how you did and track improvement over time.

RELATED: 32 Ways to Reverse Holiday Weight Gain in 1 Week

Don’t expect to do the same workout in your next class

The instructors switch up the routine every time, offering a unique challenge every time you show up. In general, though, you can expect the 55-minute session to involve a combination of treadmill, indoor rowing, and strength training (with weights, body-weight exercises, or possibly TRX moves).

With folks rowing, running, jumping around on the floor, and screens holding your cue cards all around, it may feel as if there’s a lot going on in the room. But just focus on your movement and form during your first class; the trainer can walk you through your results afterward—then help you set new goals for when you return for round two.

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3 Easy Ways to Fix Your Form on a Rowing Machine

No, that’s not where the handlebar goes.

When it comes to fitness trends, rowing just might be the new spinning. Rowing studios are popping up in cities around the country, and workout-aholics are giving up their spin and barre classes for this old-school activity that offers huge results and cardio health benefits.

To some gym-goers, rowing machines or ergometers (more colloquially “ergs”) are daunting pieces of equipment that appear way too complicated to actually use. If you’ve never set foot in a crew boat and don’t have proper training, getting your rowing technique right can be tricky.

RELATED: This Rowing Routine Is the Best Low-Impact Workout You Haven’t Tried Yet

Most rowing newbies think it’s the arms and legs that do all of the work. But rowing also totally engages your core. That’s right: goodbye tedious crunches. Erging works every part of your body, and it’s great for weight loss and strength training. Running on a treadmill might help you burn calories and lose some pounds, but rowing will do that and raise you toned muscles.

In these side-by-side videos, Caley Crawford, director of education and programming at Row House in New York City, will show you not only how to row the right way (no, you don’t want to choke yourself by slamming the handlebar into your throat), but she also demonstrates how to correct three common mistakes new and self-taught rowers might be making.

RELATED: How to Use a Rowing Machine in 6 Easy Steps

Check out Crawford’s quick fixes below:

How to properly row

The fix: Power with your legs and not your lower back.

Where to pull the handle

The fix: Pull the handlebar in to your chest and not your chin.

Basic rowing mechanics

The fix: Release your arm motion before releasing your legs.

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Teen Sings During Brain Surgery to Save Her Musical Abilities

Kira Iaconetti’s passion is singing and performing on stage. The self-taught musician, 19, spent her entire young life performing in plays and musicals until about four years ago, when she started having a strange reaction any time she sang or listened to music.

“It was like a light switch turned off in my brain,” Iaconetti said in an interview for Seattle Children’s Hospital. “Suddenly, I was tone deaf, I couldn’t process the words in time with the music and I couldn’t sing.”

Iaconetti would have these two-minute “episodes,” and then return to normal — although strangely exhausted. Still, she didn’t worry about the occurrences until their frequency increased.

RELATED: Man’s Constant Runny Nose Turns Out to Be Leaking Brain Fluid: ‘This Thing Just Drains Out’

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“Forcing myself to sing after one of these glitches was extremely difficult,” she said. “I would become incoherent, slurring and stuttering my words.”

Iaconetti and her mom went to Seattle Children’s Hospital, where a neurologist told her that the episodes were a type of seizure that only occurred when her brain was exposed to music. An MRI showed that there was a calcified tumor that pushed up against her auditory cortex, causing the seizures, “in sort of a twisted joke from the universe,” she said.

“Her tumor was discovered because of a very unusual type of epilepsy she had called musicogenic epilepsy,” Dr. Jason Hauptman, a neurosurgeon at the hospital, explained. “These seizures are triggered by listening to music or singing, which is an unfortunate problem for Kira since she is a performer who likes to sing.”

RELATED: This Woman Isn’t Afraid to Show Off Her Scars From Having 15 Surgeries

Working with Iaconetti and his fellow doctors, Hauptman formulated a surgery plan that would allow them to remove the tumor while hopefully preserving the teen’s ability to sing and process musical notes.

“Messing with [the tumor] could permanently affect my voice, and because Dr. Hauptman knew how important it is to me to continue singing and acting, he wanted to be very careful when removing the tumor,” she said. “He didn’t want to interfere with my ability to sing.”

Hauptman decided on an awake craniotomy, meaning he would go into Iaconetti’s brain while she was under anesthesia, and then wake her to sing, igniting the areas of the brain that work when she’s using her musical abilities.

“Our focus was not only on taking care of the tumor, but making her life better. We wanted to preserve the things she cares about, like her passion for pursuing a career in musical theater,” he said.

Having a patient wake up and sing was a first for the Seattle Children’s surgeons.

“We’ve never had a patient sing in the operating room before, and Kira is such a talented musician,” neuropsychologist Dr. Hillary Shurtleff said. “Her voice is so beautiful and her willingness to do something new helped make the whole process interactive, collaborative and exciting.”

The Sept. 4 surgery went smoothly, with Iaconetti testing out her singing as doctors mapped out her brain. Then, Hauptman worked on removing the tumor as she sang Weezer’s “Island in the Sun,” which she picked because it made her think of her family and Hawaii, where she was born. Plus, one of the lines goes, “I can’t control my brain,” to which she added, “literally.”

Doctors put her back to sleep after that and finished up the surgery, and Iaconetti was back to singing and playing guitar 48 hours later from her hospital bed.

Hauptman said that Iaconetti likely won’t require any additional surgery.

“Kira is a remarkable young lady who had a terrible problem,” he said. “We came together and developed a very novel way to approach her problem that we’re hoping will have a positive impact for the rest of her life.”

And Iaconetti is ready for her next show.

“My biggest fear before the surgery was that the seizures would get in the way of performing,” she said. “Now, I want to get back to the stage, to performing as soon as I can.”

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ThirdLove Responds to Victoria’s Secret Inflammatory Comments About Women | InStyle.com

ICYMI, Victoria’s Secret is in hot water this month following commentary from the brand’s chief marketing officer Ed Razek, the creator of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, in his now-infamous interview with Vogue.

Not only did Razek objectify women and offend plus-size and transgender people while speaking with the magazine, he also directly called out startup lingerie brand ThirdLove. ThirdLove offers a huge supply of sizes and colors of bras for women with various skin tones and body types — seems like a no-brainer, right?

RELATED: Rihanna Low-Key Threw Shade at the Victoria’s Secret Exec Who Said the Brand Won’t Cast Trans or Plus-Size Models

“We’re nobody’s third love,” Razek said to Vogue. “We’re their first love.”

As a result, ThirdLove’s co-founder Heidi Zak is responding to Razek’s distasteful words about women in an open-letter to Victoria’s Secret, which ran in today’s New York Times as a full-page ad.

RELATED: The 10 Best Sports Bras for Large Breasts

“I was appalled when I saw the demeaning comments about women your Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Razek, made to Vogue last week,” she begins her message, pulling out specific excepts from Razek’s interview that were particularly damning.

“I’ve read and re-read the interview at least 20 times, and each time I read it I’m even angrier,” says Zak. “How in 2018 can the CMO of any public company — let alone one that claims to be for women — make such shocking, derogatory statements?”

Zak continued: “You market to men and sell a male fantasy to women. But at ThirdLove, we think beyond, as you said, a ’42-minute entertainment special.'”

“Your show may be a ‘fantasy’ but we live in reality,” she adds. “Our reality is that women wear bras in real life as they go to work, breastfeed their children, play sports, care for ailing parents, and serve their country.”

RELATED: These New Wireless Bras for Cup Sizes DD+ Are Ridiculously Comfortable

Zak goes on to school Razek about the real definition of inclusivity, as ThirdLove serves all women. “Haven’t we moved beyond outdated ideas of femininity and gender roles? It’s time to stop telling women what makes them sexy — let us decide,” she says. “We’re done with pretending certain sizes don’t exist or aren’t important enough to serve. And please stop insisting that inclusivity is a trend.”

The co-founder of the upstart brand then explains her reasoning for launching the company in the first place, which was essentially out of necessity. “I founded ThirdLove five years ago because it was time to create a better option,” Zak says. “ThirdLove is the antithesis of Victoria’s Secret. We believe the future is building a brand for every woman, regardless of her shape, size, age, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. This shouldn’t be seen as groundbreaking, it should be the norm.”

“Let’s listen to women. Let’s respect their intelligence. Let’s exceed their expectations. Let women define themselves.”

Directly identifying Razek’s jab at her brand, Zak serves one better. “As you said Ed, ‘We’re nobody’s ThirdLove, we’re their first love.’ We are flattered for the mention, but let me be clear: we may not have been a woman’s first love but we will be her last.”

Zak concludes her moving message by letting all women, regardless of their size or color, know that they are worthy. “To all women everywhere, we see you, and we hear you,” she says. “Your reality is enough. To each, her own.”

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