Ghost workout

All right. Thank you, Caesar. So we're about to consume a lot of candy and sweets already. We know you have been all week long because the bags have been out. But tomorrow, whenever we go trick-or-treating, you're going to fill your bag up. But then the question is, how can you stay in shape when you're eating all that sugar? Well, Lifetime Fitness, Katie and Amber are here to tell us just what we need to do as we're consuming all these extra calories, going to the parties, getting our fill of it, what we need to make sure that we stay a little bit healthy. Amber, tell us a little bit about what Lifetime Fitness offers and especially this time of year Well, we offer all kinds of classes, so I always highly recommend that. We offer personal training. We have a huge pickleball court. We do all kinds of tournaments there. But staying healthy this time of year is really about balance, right? So you want to make sure you eat healthy, but you also get to enjoy things too. So don't try to cut calories because you go all in on Halloween. Just, you know, get back on track on November 1st and everything's okay. And nobody's going to not entirely eat some of the candy. You know, you're going to go in. And this is just the beginning of the holidays because then we have Thanksgiving and we have Christmas. So now is a good time to really kind of set a holiday schedule. What would you recommend for people as they're about to get into the season where there's going to be excess of foods? Yeah. I would just say don't try to limit yourselves on the days that you know you're going to be doing something, going to a party, you're not trying to starve yourself, skip breakfast. You want to just stick with your normal routine, make sure you're getting protein, fiber, drinking lots of water. That way you're not going in starving. And then just treat yourself to what you really love and not the things that you know you can lay off of. Don't overdo it. And then most of all, day two, next day, you're back on track. So, you know, you're enjoying yourself, you're not overstressing it. And then of course you're always getting your workouts in. So just to help mostly reduce stress, keep your energy up, not trying to offset the calories you're eating. And I would say if you deprive yourself at one point, like if you're holding back, you're like, I'm not gonna have any candy, at one point you're gonna crash and you're just gonna eat the whole thing all at once. And I think that's actually worse than probably just having a little bit, doing it in moderation, enjoying the party you're at. But then as you mentioned, Getting in the gym the morning after. So what are we going to do here now to make sure that we are doing the right exercises for this? Yeah, we've got a fun little Halloween core workout that Amber's going to demonstrate. I'm just going to talk you through it. So it's like a ghost acronym here. So we're going to start out with the G of the ghost. And this is going to be glute bridges. Glute bridges are great to activate your glutes, obviously, strengthen your core, strengthen your low back. She's going to keep her heels tight to the body, squeeze her glutes as she lifts, and just get that little pause at the top, keeping her core belly button in really tight to the spine. And then the second exercise we're doing is a hollow hold, which is another one for your deep core. You're going to elevate your chest and your heels off the ground. There's a modified version where you can bend your knees slightly. But keeping your low back firmly pressed to the ground is really important, just building up the deep core muscles. Yeah, I think that's always so important. That one's a hard one. The hollow one, yeah. How long do you recommend kind of holding it for? I usually do like 20 to 30 seconds and then like do a knee hug so you give yourself a little bit of a break. Or maybe when your back starts coming off the mat and your form starts breaking down, it's like, okay, let's take a break so before we can reset. Because form is so important when you're doing any of this stuff because you want to be able to keep coming back to the gym and you don't want your muscles to fail you. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And actually making sure your core is strong before you go full into heavy lifting is a great point. Okay. So there's some abs. Do we have more? Yeah. So we've got oblique twists, which is very similar to a Russian twist, but you're keeping your body more upright and getting movement through your thoracic spine and just working through those oblique muscles. And then sit-ups are classic. Everyone knows how to do a sit-up, but just making sure you're scooping your muscles in as you're lifting your chest up off the ground. And then the last one we have is like a toe touch. So she's going to elevate, make sure she's getting those lower back muscles touching the ground as she reaches and gets the upper abdominal muscles by touching her toes. So just kind of a fun, say you can do each of those exercises for 20, 30 seconds, two to three rounds, even on the morning of Halloween, and then you'll get your steps in because you're doing all the trick-or-treating with your kids and getting outside and hopefully enjoying yourself. Does it matter if you do abs at the beginning or the end of your workout or just as long as you're getting them in? I like to do a little bit beforehand just to get warmed up and then maybe a little bit stronger ab workout at the end of your workout. Okay, and then for how many days would you recommend somebody to be healthy to be at the gym? I would say anywhere from three to five days is a good plan for people. I mean, some people like to come every single day, but we offer a lot of recovery classes, yoga. We have, you know, sauna. So it doesn't necessarily have to be a high-intensity workout every time you come to the gym, but just getting three to five strength training-style workouts in. Enjoying the rest of the gym on those days, you may take more of an active rest day. And then once you're in the gym, you've afforded yourself the luxury of having just a little bit of candy on Halloween as you get set for the holidays. But again, the important part is don't deprive yourself. Have a little bit in moderation and make sure you stay active in the gym. Thank you so much for joining us in here for Lifetime Fitness. Thank you for having us. All right, Stephanie. Yeah, thank you, ladies.