Gretchen Bleiler Quotes

The side plank and plank jumping jacks are all really great; just be sure to hold that naval to the spine as hard as you can. As for reps, do as many as you can and try for more on your next workout. If you can only do five on Tuesday, make sure you do six or seven on Wednesday. The only rule? Never go back to five! Always continue pushing forward.

I see so many people in the gym just slinging weight around. You can accomplish more if you squeeze the reps out in perfect form, instead of going big and trying to kill it every time.

If some guy said this to me, I wouldn't listen either, but one-rep max-outs are the dumbest things you can do to yourself.

The way CrossFit is - anyone, on any given day, could beat you.

When you do hit the gym, you should push yourself. This is what makes fitness phenomena so interesting.

The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow.

It's very difficult for my body to recover after workouts now that I'm older, so we have to keep them short, which means they're extremely difficult and intense. It sucks.

Well, being 6' 5', pull-ups are my nemesis. I have really long arms so I have to do twice the work of someone with short arms to get the weight up there.

My girlfriends and I just started doing plyometrics. It's a killer - it hurts so much. But when you walk out of there, you're like, 'I can't believe I just did that and my body looks this good.'

There is no way to have a strong arm if you don't throw enough.

I'm obviously always interested in the dancer who's an athlete and vice versa. I expect dancers to be in condition like an athlete is and to challenge themselves in the same way, to the same physical degree.

So when I'm working out I do things extreme.

Your body begins to change when it burns and shakes... so when an exercise is challenging, I always think 'feel your body changing.'

I do all core-based alignment training and strength training. If I don't die at the end of 90 minutes, then it hasn't been a good workout.

I knew that I had to train with intensity and focus, but I never thought about the weight on the bar.

Perfecting your form and technique at early stages will go a long way. Don't compromise on the big lifts - deadlifts, squats, and bench-presses.

I like to push my body to the limits.

I do 100 squats while I brush my teeth.

Soreness is not something you should always look for. It's good once in a while: it means you are pushing back on plateaus. But just because you aren't sore doesn't mean you aren't working hard.

With workout classes, I always want to know that I can improve with each class I take. But I don't think I'll ever master the art of peddling quickly with little resistance, at least not without feeling like I'm going to fly off the bike.

You don't start out getting into the gym and bench pressing 300 pounds. You start out by doing the bar.

It's kind of a negative connotation that CrossFit gets. It's all dependent on the person and it has to be scaled accordingly.

An ordinary pushup is much more advanced and challenging performed on a stability ball.

It's important to work slowly and intelligently in your strength work before revving up the intensity. Start with deep diaphragmatic breathing to reengage and reconnect with your abdominals.

One of the things I found as a dancer is that you're trying to perfect your body but also protect it and keep it injury-free. When you work against your own weight, you're still building lean muscle and bone density, but you're in a safer zone.