Blog Posts by Angie Greenup

Getting in shape sometimes isn't fun, but hula hooping puts a cool spin on fitness. "Summer Shape Up" stopped by the "Hoopnotica" studio to see how easy it is to shed pounds by using a hula hoop. Beyonce', Olivia Wilde, and Marisa Tomei have all enjoyed staying in shape with "Hoopnotica." The fat-burning workout strengthens your core and is an excellent cardio exercise. Their weighted hula hoop can help you burn 400 to 600 calories. Here's a few "Hoopnotica" fit moves that will blast the fat and keep you young at heart.

Waist Hooping- Place one foot in front of the other and spin the hula hoop around your waist. Rock forward and backward with you hips, while pulling your abs towards your spine. It's a great core exercise.

Lunge Hooping- Place one foot in front of the other and bend your knees into a lunge position. Spin the hula hoop around your waist, while lunging up and down. Lunge hooping tightens up your core and glutes.

Ninja Pass- Begin in a plié' position with toes

If you don't have time to hit the gym, that's no longer an excuse. Celebrity fitness trainer Jennifer Cohen (who has worked with Keanu Reeves) and creator of "No Gym Required" stopped by "Summer Shape Up" to share the secrets to getting fit without ever going to the gym. Jennifer is also the fitness spokesperson for Weight Watchers and she even created their "Points/Activities Plus Fitness Series" DVD. She believes that if you only have a few minutes throughout the day at home, the grocery store, or even at the office there's easy ways to build lean muscle and burn fat. Try a few of these "No Gym Required" exercises to start getting in shape.

Prisoner Squat with Twist- Deep squat past your knees while your hands are laced behind your head. As you come back up to starting position you twist your knee to your opposite elbow. This requires no equipment and tones your thighs, abs, and glutes.

Lateral Lunge to Half X- Lunge to one side and push your hips back. As you come back

Want a body like Jennifer Aniston? Celebrity yoga instructor Mandy Ingber stopped by "Summer Shape Up" to show us how to get a killer bod like her A-list client. Mandy created the DVD "Yogalosophy," which pairs a yoga pose with a toning exercise. In addition to Jen, Mandy incorporates the "Yogalosophy" moves with her other celebrity clients such as Kate Beckinsale, Woody Harrelson, and Helen Hunt to name a few. Here are a few yoga moves that Mandy recommends to achieve a sleek summer body.

Side Plank: Begin in plank position and turn to balance on one arm. Lift up your waist and place one foot slightly in front of the other. Try holding for eight reps on each side.

Triceps Push-Up: Begin this exercise in plank position. Graze your ribs with your elbows. Lead with your chest while lowering down, and keep your body nice and straight. Do five to eight reps.

3-Legged Dog/ Knee Ins: Begin in downward facing dog position. Extend your leg up, then shift your body weight

Celebrity trainer and creator of "Sunday Set-Up" Kathy Kaehler gave us some great advice on meal planning for summer. Kathy created "Sunday Set-Up" to help make eating healthy super easy. Instead of stressing about what to eat everyday, the program sets a routine that each Sunday you "set up" your food for the week.

Sunday Set-Up

The concept is quite simple: you make a list of what to buy (your favorite grain and lean protein, along with fresh fruits and veggies) and store it in glass-lock containers. It takes just 45 minutes on Sunday (or any day of the week) to prep and chop. It's the simplest way to eat healthy all week. Kathy prepared some of her favorite nutritious meals and snacks in her kitchen when we stopped by, including "breakfast in a jar", chopped vegetables (such as broccoli and carrots), hummus, vegetable soup (made with her chopped ingredients), and delicious baked pears.
 


Stars such as Angie Harmon, Tiffani Thiessen, Lisa Rinna, and Rebecca Romijn are

Ever wonder how to use some of the fitness tools in your gym? Well, Amy Dixon, Equinox Group Fitness Manager in Santa Monica, CA stopped by "Summer Shape Up" to give us the skinny on the coolest fitness equipment that will fight the battle of the bulge. Here are five get-fit tools that you may or may not already be familiar with.

ViPR- (Viper) ViPR is an acronym for Vitality, Performance, and Re-conditioning. The rubber tubing varies in weight between 8 - 44 pounds. You can do any movement with this fitness tool and it will build lean muscle, while shredding calories.

Bosu Ballast Ball - This weighted stability ball doesn't roll away when doing various exercises such as Russian twists, crunches, and any plank variation.

Bosu Balance Trainer- This versatile fitness tool is great for exercises such as push- ups, mountain climbers, and side planks. The Bosu Balance Trainer enhances balance and adds to any cardio or strength training.

Kettlebell- Although the kettlebell

This week, Summer Shape Up paid a visit to celebrity fitness trainer Jackie Warner to discuss her new book "10 Pounds In 10 Days," which divulges her secret formula for getting her star clients red carpet-ready. The program shows you how to lose a quick 10 pounds and how to continue losing weight over 30 days if you have more weight to lose. The book also includes simple food plans and workouts to enhance fat-burning and toning.

The New York Times best-selling author says her five "intensity techniques" are key to burning calories. These exercises jump start your metabolism and help make you look and feel better overall:

1. Cardio-acceleration: a short but intense cardio burst between strength-training exercises, such as jumping rope or using an elliptical machine.

2. High-intensity interval training (HIIT): alternating bursts of high-intensity and low-intensity aerobic activity, such as alternating a three-minute jog with a one-minute sprint.

3. Supersets: sets of two different