Chances are good that you can relate to how Jillian Michaels started 2019 after a roller coaster year of ups and downs. She found herself hoping for better times after the destruction of her house in the California wildfires and the failure of some business ventures. She lost loved ones. “Maybe 2018 beat you up a bit,” Michaels writes on her blog. “I know it did me. The year kinda sucked to be frank. And yes, some of it was my doing, but some of it wasn’t.”

The star trainer plans to do more than hope and wish. Her New Year’s Eve musings sharpened her focus on the power of learning. Give meaning to losses that are out of your control by learning and you become resilient. Learning to change negative behavior patterns helps you avoid heartache. Michaels recommends finding support to help you share, learn and grow. One way to start is getting together with almost 20,000 members on her private Facebook group. Joining is free.

Another good way to kick off the New Year is taking care of your health. Michaels has teamed up as Good Housekeeping‘s on-call trainer to present nine moves to tone your whole body at home. For more moves that allow you to skip the gym, subscribe to Michaels’ personalized fitness app.

Full Body: Burpee Push-ups

What it works: arms, chest, quads, glutes, hamstrings, and abs

  1. Squat and place hands on floor.
  2. Jump feet into plank.
  3. Drop chest to ground and perform a push-up.
  4. Jump feet forward into squat position.
  5. Jump up, reaching hands over head, and repeat sequence for 30 seconds. Rest. Do two more sets.

Make it easier: Step back instead of jumping and do push-up on knees.

Butt: Chair Pose

What it works: quads, butt, abs, and lower back

  1. Stand with feet close together and inhale; raise arms perpendicular to floor, shoulders back.
  2. Bend knees as you exhale, hinging forward at hips, abs engaged. Keeping gaze forward, “sit” back, lifting arms alongside ears.
  3. With back straight and toes visible when you glance over your knees, sink more deeply to try to get upper thighs parallel to floor.
  4. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds, depending on strength, then return to start. Repeat three times.

Make it easier: Sink less deeply into the pose or stand with heels on a rolled-up mat or towel.

Make it harder: Sit even lower and hold pose for 30 seconds.

Abs: Scissor Crunch

What it works: abs and lower back

  1. Lie flat on back; place hands under lower back for protection.
  2. Slowly raise both legs until they are perpendicular to floor. Pull belly button in toward spine and keep body flat.
  3. Crunch upper body until shoulders are off floor and hold.
  4. Slowly scissor legs up and down, bringing them — one at a time — from perpendicular to nearly parallel to floor.
  5. Do for 30 seconds, then rest. Repeat three times.

Make it easier: Lie flat instead of crunching up, and squeeze abs as you raise and lower legs instead.

Make it harder: Place hands behind head with fingers interlaced, keeping a fist’s distance between chin and chest

Arms: Renegade Rows

What it works: back, shoulders, and arms

  1. Start in plank, holding weights and with feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Row dumbbell to chest (as shown) and release. Do three reps. Switch hands; repeat.
  3. Keep it up for one minute.

Make it easier: Drop knees to modify.

Read More: Let’s make 2019 YOUR year

 

 

 

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