Thought I would share a quick workout idea in case you have a brain freeze and don't want to plan one yourself. We did these in class today for a warm-up and it really woke everyone up. You will need a deck of cards. Feel free to change the exercises to suit your abilities. Here is an example video and description:
Here's the deal:
1. You can use either the whole deck or a half at a time. I have found that a half deck takes about 6:30-7:00 to do with clients.
2. Assign an exercise to each suit.
3. Turn the cards over one at a time and do an equal number of reps for that exercise. Number breakdown:
4. Aces: one, Numbers are what they are, Face cards: eleven
5. Rest only if you have to. This is for endurance and you should try to push your limits.
Here are three examples: One focuses on cardio, one on strength endurance training and one on core movements.
Cardio:
Hearts: Jumping Jacks
Diamonds: Kettlebell Swings (Use a dumbbell if necessary), alternative: Mountain Climbers
Spades: Burpees (aka Squat Thrusts)
Clubs: Frog Hops
Strength endurance:
Hearts: Pushups
Diamonds: Pull-ups or Body Weight Rows(can be modified using a smith machine, Jungle Gym or Assisted pull up machine)
Spades: Prisoner Squats (bodyweight and hands behind head)
Clubs: Prisoner Front Lunges
Core:
Hearts: Hanging Leg Raises
Diamonds: Russian Twist (count every right side)
Spades: Kettlebell Swings (great lower back move), alternative: Good Mornings
Clubs: Half Turkish Get Ups (up to bridge and down)
Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell classes and personal training.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Toys For Tots Success
This morning, 10 brave women showed up in cold conditions to sweat and give back to charity. We had our first annual Toys for Tots workout in which everyone had to bring a gift to participate. These women were put through a workout with cone drills, heavy ropes, kettlebells and body weight exercises that got them ready for a beautiful Saturday. HeadSTRONG will be doing more charity events throughout the year so keep checking in to see what's on tap. If you would like to receive our newsletter, sign up at www.headstrongathletics.com.
A huge thanks to:
(from left to right) Standing: Mary Susan, Elizabeth, Kristine, Elena and (sitting) Heather, Jess, Kristine, Karen, Kristen (not pictured: Suzie and Shawn (instructor).
Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell boot camps.
Lance Armstrong Swings the Bell
The above photo was taken from an article in the New York Daily News. If the kettlebell is part of Lance's training, don't you think its good enough for you? Join HeadSTRONG Athletics for Phase #1 of 2009 Boot Camps and learn how to train like a professional athlete!
Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our kettlebell boot camps.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Short and Sweet Kettlebell Workout
This weekend I found myself in the very odd position of having ample time to workout. However, even if I have an hour to train, my sessions never seem to last more than 30 minutes. This is especially the case now that I am half way through my second pregnancy and I don't have the stamina or inclination to go longer. So today, I thought I would give you an example of a very simple but effective workout that I did this weekend that doesn't take much brain power. You don't even have to count reps here. Just set your countdown timer on your watch and go!
Workout Plan:
Z Health Joint Mobility Warm up
--5 minutes: Turkish Get ups with a racked squat and press at the top (alternate sides each time). Set your countdown timer on your watch and go
--2 minutes: Rest (less if you are not prego)
--10 minutes: Hand to Hand Swings: 30 seconds on/30 seconds off (again, you may not need as much rest in between if you are not breathing for two)
--2 minutes: Rest
--REPEAT Get ups and Swings. Exception: Change your swings to 2-handed or do snatches instead.
Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell classes and personal training.
Workout Plan:
Z Health Joint Mobility Warm up
--5 minutes: Turkish Get ups with a racked squat and press at the top (alternate sides each time). Set your countdown timer on your watch and go
--2 minutes: Rest (less if you are not prego)
--10 minutes: Hand to Hand Swings: 30 seconds on/30 seconds off (again, you may not need as much rest in between if you are not breathing for two)
--2 minutes: Rest
--REPEAT Get ups and Swings. Exception: Change your swings to 2-handed or do snatches instead.
With this workout you will:
1. Get your heart rate up in short bursts which increases your metabolism and your anaerobic and aerobic capacity
2. Builds strength in all parts of your body through compound movements and tension.
3. Increase your flexibility and range of motion with Joint Mobility exercises
4. Reduce your chance of back and shoulder pain with Swings and Turkish Get-ups.
Enjoy!
Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell classes and personal training.
Monday, December 1, 2008
4 Strategies for Fighting the Holiday Bulge in Less Time
You are not the only person to feel boxed in by the holiday season. Although this is a joyous time for celebration, we have all gotten bogged down with the extra activity of shopping, cooking and finishing up work projects. However, if you have made an effort during the year to create your best body ever, you don’t want to spoil it within one month. The risk of losing cherished muscle mass means a lower metabolism (your resting metabolic rate makes up 60-75% of your daily caloric burn) and the risk of storing up body fat. In addition, lack of exercise will also mean a regression of strength and power while performing daily activities and playing sports. Lucky for all of us, there are sneaky ways to avoid the black hole of inactivity. Below are outlined strategies to help you maintain your current fitness levels and fight off excess baggage.
1.) Complete at least one intense strength training session per week
When this time of the year creeps up on us, maintenance is the key. Let’s be honest, most of us are not in a position during the holidays to drop massive amounts of weight or even keep up with a flawless six-day per week workout routine. If you are pressed for time, one effective strength workout per week is an effective way to preserve your current levels of strength and lean muscle mass. So, to make this happen, shoot for at least one good workout per week that includes strength training and bouts of high intensity training. Here is an example:
Complete 4 Rounds of the following circuit. Rest for 20-30 seconds between sets and 1-2 minutes between rounds:
1. Clean, Squat and Press (5-8 reps)
2. Pull ups or modified Body Back Rows (5-8 reps)
3. Front/Back Lunges (8 reps ea. Leg)
4. Turkish Get-ups (3-4 reps ea. Side)
After you complete the 4 rounds, perform 8-10 sets of Kettlebell Swings for 30 seconds on/30 seconds rest
This type of training will help to prevent unwanted regressions in fitness. To best prevent weight gain, aim for three total body strength workouts per week. To maximize fat burning, perform three total body strength workouts per week and also perform three cardio interval workouts per week on non strength-training days.
2.) Hit Your Totals
Confusing your body will do no harm. It cannot differentiate between 100 push-ups performed in a row versus 100 total push-ups performed in a day. Therefore, when you honestly cannot find a 20-minute time slot to complete an effective total body workout, search out 2-3 minute chunks of time during the day to execute some repetitions of big bang exercises. Instead of taking a break to check your email, knock out 10 squats, 10 push-ups and 10 Turkish Get-ups. Now do this 3-5 times throughout the day and by the end you will have burned the same amount of calories in addition to creating similar muscle building effects as if you did all of the exercises at once during a single workout.
It is important to note that this “Hit Your Totals” routine is merely a back-up option to the ideal 20-30 minute interval training workouts which are scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than long slow distance exercise. Short rest periods between exercises create the optimal hormonal environment for rapid fat loss and lean muscle gain, where as the long rest periods (full recovery) between movements do not. However, during holiday crunch times, reality sets in and it comes down to effective (“Hit Your Totals”) versus optimal (Total Body Circuit Interval Training Workouts). Just don’t get caught up in the additional category of lazy!
When designing your workouts, choose multi-joint, compound movements that hit as much of your body’s major muscle groups in the shortest amount of time possible (e.g. squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, rows, etc.). Use the plan below as guide to build your own “Hit Your Totals” workout. Adjust the repetition ranges accordingly based on your current strength levels. Perform this plan up to three times per week, resting a day between workouts. Make sure to alternate between Plan A and Plan B for more variety. You can either hit your total by doing one exercise first (e.g. perform push-ups rest-pausing as needed until you get 100 total), or by simply employ circuit style training (e.g. 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 rows, repeat 10x throughout the day to hit your totals).
The Hit Your Total Workout For The Holidays
Plan A: 3-5 rounds throughout the day
Body weight Squats: 50-100 total
Push-ups: 40-100 total
Turkish Get-ups: 9-15 each side total
Plan B (if you have weights): 3-5 rounds throughout the day
Deadlifts: 18-30 total
Dumbbell Renegade Rows with Push-up in between: 15-25 ea. Arm
Get-up Sit-up: 24-40 each side total
3.) Boycott The Machines
Machines are to exercise what spell checker is to vocabulary. They do half the work for us and make us dumber in the process. Our bodies were not meant to sit and press in a fixed range of motion. In the real world our joints need to be prepared to stabilize and be strong on their own, without the help of a bench or machine. This holiday season, and forever into the future, make it a point to not use them! And this doesn’t just go for the equipment you find in the gym. I am also talking about cars, elevators and leaf blowers. Park further away at the mall, take the steps and get out and rake the yard. The more you move, the more you burn and the more you stay young. Stand up as much as possible and resist the temptation to let a robot or machine do the work for you.
4.) Play outdoors!
Instead of opting to sit on the couch and become chatty Cathy, challenge your family and friends to a game of tag football, a snowball fight or take a walk. It is not important that you get your heart rate up to an intense level but instead just get off your butt! If you are outdoors and playing like a kid, you are getting more Vitamin D from the sun, you’re burning more calories and you are creating more memories than metabolizing your food. Once again, all these calories here and there truly do add up and could make a difference between you fitting in your pants or ripping your pants by the time the clock strikes midnight this New Year!Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell classes and personal training.
1.) Complete at least one intense strength training session per week
When this time of the year creeps up on us, maintenance is the key. Let’s be honest, most of us are not in a position during the holidays to drop massive amounts of weight or even keep up with a flawless six-day per week workout routine. If you are pressed for time, one effective strength workout per week is an effective way to preserve your current levels of strength and lean muscle mass. So, to make this happen, shoot for at least one good workout per week that includes strength training and bouts of high intensity training. Here is an example:
Complete 4 Rounds of the following circuit. Rest for 20-30 seconds between sets and 1-2 minutes between rounds:
1. Clean, Squat and Press (5-8 reps)
2. Pull ups or modified Body Back Rows (5-8 reps)
3. Front/Back Lunges (8 reps ea. Leg)
4. Turkish Get-ups (3-4 reps ea. Side)
After you complete the 4 rounds, perform 8-10 sets of Kettlebell Swings for 30 seconds on/30 seconds rest
This type of training will help to prevent unwanted regressions in fitness. To best prevent weight gain, aim for three total body strength workouts per week. To maximize fat burning, perform three total body strength workouts per week and also perform three cardio interval workouts per week on non strength-training days.
2.) Hit Your Totals
Confusing your body will do no harm. It cannot differentiate between 100 push-ups performed in a row versus 100 total push-ups performed in a day. Therefore, when you honestly cannot find a 20-minute time slot to complete an effective total body workout, search out 2-3 minute chunks of time during the day to execute some repetitions of big bang exercises. Instead of taking a break to check your email, knock out 10 squats, 10 push-ups and 10 Turkish Get-ups. Now do this 3-5 times throughout the day and by the end you will have burned the same amount of calories in addition to creating similar muscle building effects as if you did all of the exercises at once during a single workout.
It is important to note that this “Hit Your Totals” routine is merely a back-up option to the ideal 20-30 minute interval training workouts which are scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than long slow distance exercise. Short rest periods between exercises create the optimal hormonal environment for rapid fat loss and lean muscle gain, where as the long rest periods (full recovery) between movements do not. However, during holiday crunch times, reality sets in and it comes down to effective (“Hit Your Totals”) versus optimal (Total Body Circuit Interval Training Workouts). Just don’t get caught up in the additional category of lazy!
When designing your workouts, choose multi-joint, compound movements that hit as much of your body’s major muscle groups in the shortest amount of time possible (e.g. squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, rows, etc.). Use the plan below as guide to build your own “Hit Your Totals” workout. Adjust the repetition ranges accordingly based on your current strength levels. Perform this plan up to three times per week, resting a day between workouts. Make sure to alternate between Plan A and Plan B for more variety. You can either hit your total by doing one exercise first (e.g. perform push-ups rest-pausing as needed until you get 100 total), or by simply employ circuit style training (e.g. 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 rows, repeat 10x throughout the day to hit your totals).
The Hit Your Total Workout For The Holidays
Plan A: 3-5 rounds throughout the day
Body weight Squats: 50-100 total
Push-ups: 40-100 total
Turkish Get-ups: 9-15 each side total
Plan B (if you have weights): 3-5 rounds throughout the day
Deadlifts: 18-30 total
Dumbbell Renegade Rows with Push-up in between: 15-25 ea. Arm
Get-up Sit-up: 24-40 each side total
3.) Boycott The Machines
Machines are to exercise what spell checker is to vocabulary. They do half the work for us and make us dumber in the process. Our bodies were not meant to sit and press in a fixed range of motion. In the real world our joints need to be prepared to stabilize and be strong on their own, without the help of a bench or machine. This holiday season, and forever into the future, make it a point to not use them! And this doesn’t just go for the equipment you find in the gym. I am also talking about cars, elevators and leaf blowers. Park further away at the mall, take the steps and get out and rake the yard. The more you move, the more you burn and the more you stay young. Stand up as much as possible and resist the temptation to let a robot or machine do the work for you.
4.) Play outdoors!
Instead of opting to sit on the couch and become chatty Cathy, challenge your family and friends to a game of tag football, a snowball fight or take a walk. It is not important that you get your heart rate up to an intense level but instead just get off your butt! If you are outdoors and playing like a kid, you are getting more Vitamin D from the sun, you’re burning more calories and you are creating more memories than metabolizing your food. Once again, all these calories here and there truly do add up and could make a difference between you fitting in your pants or ripping your pants by the time the clock strikes midnight this New Year!Call 910.231.5011 or email shawn@headstrongathletics.com for more information on our group kettlebell classes and personal training.
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