HOT HIPS AND FABULOUS THIGHS

These eight exercise come from "Hot Hips and Fabulous Thighs" by Ellington Darden, Ph.D.
WIDE SQUAT AGAINST WALL: (thighs and buttocks) Lean back against a sturdy wall. Place heels six inches wider apart than your shoulders and 1 1/2 to 2 feet away from wall. Hands on your hips. Now slide down the wall until the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. Push back to top position (don't move your feet!) and immediately lower back to parallel position. Repeat for 5 sustained contraction repetitions.
Gradually increase the length of each repetition each work out, the goal is 5 repetitions of 30 seconds. (this goes for all exercises)

HIP RAISE: (buttocks)Lie on your back on the floor. Slide your feet under your knees. Raise hips upward. Keep head, shoulders and hands on floor. Arch lower back slightly. Contract your buttocks as hard as you can and hold for 10 seconds. Lower hips back to the floor, and immediately raise back up. Repeat 5 times.
(After hip raises, release tension in your back/hips by curling up into a ball for 5 seconds.)

NARROW WALL SQUAT: (thighs and buttocks) same as the wide squat except your feet should be only 2 inches apart. Again start with 5 sets of 10 seconds and gradually increase.

INNER THIGH LIFT: (inner thigh) Lie on your side on the floor. bend top knee and put foot on floor in front of other thigh. Grasp ankle with top hand. Raise you bottom leg as high as possible. Hold for 10 seconds, lower to floor and immediately raise again. Repeat 5 times.
Roll over onto other side and repeat with opposite leg.

REVERSE LEG RAISE: ( buttocks)Lie face down on the floor. Place palms of hands on floor by hips. Lift both legs backward as high as possible. Hold in top position and squeeze buttocks as hard as possible for 10 seconds. Lower thighs to floor and immediately raise again. Repeat 5 times. (release tension by rolling into a ball for 5 seconds)

TRUCK CURL:(midsection) Lie on back on the floor. Bring heels close to buttocks and spread knees. Interlace fingers and place over midsection. Curl shoulders gradually off floor and reach with hands between your thighs. One one-third of standard sit up. Pause at top position for 10 seconds and keep reaching. Lowe shoulders to floor and immediately raise again. Repeat 5 times.

DONKEY KICK: (buttocks) Kneel on elbows and knees. Pull one knee to chest and smoothly extend it high above and beyond the back. (Try to put bottom of foot on ceiling) Pause in top position for 10 seconds and keep leg high. Lower knee to chest immediately raise again. Repeat 5 times. Repeat with opposite leg.

NEGATIVE PUSH UP: (upper body) This is the only upper body exercise you'll do and it's lowering only. Start in the top push up position, on toes and hands with body stiff. Over 10 seconds, slowly lower your body to the floor by bending your elbows. Don't try to push yourself back up, bend your knees and return to start position. Repeat 5 times. The end goal for this exercise is 10 repetitions that take 10 seconds each.

The book recommends this six week routine.
WEEKS 1 & 2
1. Wide wall squat
2. Hip raise
3. Inner thigh lift
4. Reverse leg raise
5. Trunk curl
6. Donkey kick
7. Negative push-up
8. Hip raise
9. Wide wall squat

WEEKS 3 & 4
Add narrow wall squats between exercise 2 and 3.

WEEKS 5 & 6
Add narrow wall squats between exercises 2 and 3 and between 7 and 8.

CHARMING

"I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades and I've lost a total of 789 pounds.
By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet." Erma Bombeck

AEROBICS

FROM THE MEMBERS

Beginning next week, we'll have a "BRAG SPOT" featuring one of us that's steadily losing and managing to take it off and keep it OFF! Maybe they can give us all a few pointers. Next week's weigh-in will reveal the BIGGEST LOSER of the month and the winner of a little loot, so maybe we'll let her be in the BRAG SPOT for the week. See ya "lighter"!!!

A younger member suggested the inclusion of the following PRAYER:
Dear God .... If you can't make me skinny, PLEASE make my friends fat.

Nothing New

"All parts of the body which have a function if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well developed and age more slowly, but if unused they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly."~Hippocrates~

This Week's Tip For A Loss

wonderwomen

The Stonecutter

There was once a stonecutter, who was dissatisfied with himself and his position in life.

One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house and through the open gateway saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished that he could live like the merchant. Then he no longer would have to live the life of a mere stonecutter.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passes.

It was a hot summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, pushed away by some great force, and he realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. I wish I could be the wind.

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that could not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it — a huge, towering stone. "How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish I could be that stone!" Then he became the stone, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding on a chisel into the solid rock, and he felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought. He looked down below and saw the figure of a STONECUTTER.

BE CONTENT WITH WHO YOU ARE, BUT BE YOUR BEST SELF!

CONGRATULATIONS, YA BIG LOSERS!

Well, the stats are in and we lost 18 lbs this week. DO NOT CELEBRATE YOUR LOSS BY EATING! And please don't feel frustrated if you gained or stayed the same. TODAY IS A NEW DAY! Eat smarter....live longer!

HOW NOT TO LOSE 50 POUNDS

DIET TIP

EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT OF ANY FOOD YOU DO NOT LIKE!

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

Facing the Scale is easy when you know you've had a great week. But we all know that some weeks are better than others and that the Battle of the Bulge is not over simply because we decided to make ourselves accountable to a group of our peers. It takes strength to show up when you know the scale may have edged back up. But you know what, we are strong! Strong enough to keep moving toward our goal weight even in the face of an occasional set back. We have to FACE THE SCALE EVERY THURSDAY, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE !!!!!!

NICE TRY!

WE DO NOT ENDEAVOR TO GET AHEAD OF OTHERS, BUT TO SURPASS OURSELVES!

THE REALITY

Excess fat is not pretty. Excess fat is not healthy. If you want to believe that “big is beautiful” and persuade yourself that there is just “more of you to love,” this is neither the site nor the organization for you. But if you recognize that it's time to take off some excess pounds, whether it be a few or more than you care to admit, this is the place for you. There are no costs, unless you want to join an occasional contest, and there are no rules, just alot of great people to remind you that you are not alone. This is where we FACE THE SCALE and take accountability for our choices. The scale is not the enemy! Don't put it off anymore!