How I Feel about the Bicep Curl…
Posted 19 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power
Category Building muscle, strength, and power
The BASIC Blue Print of a Typical Workout
Posted 18 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Weight Loss
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Weight Loss
Follow these eight steps in order to achieve total workout that involves injury prevention, core, strength, power, speed, agility, and flexibility.
1. General Warm Up: This consist of any low impact/low intensity cardiovascular work to increase heart rate, body temperture, and increase blood flow of the body. Exercises consist of jogging, rowing, versa-climber, jump rope, jumping jacks, bike, etc. A general warm-up take about 3-5 minutes.
2. Dynamic Warm Up/Movement Prep: Multiple joint movements of your own body weight to increase body temperture, stretch muscles, and prepare the body for the movements you will do in your workout or on the field. Exercises include push ups, squats, multiplanar lunges, single leg squat react, etc…This should take 8-10 minutes. For more information about dynamic warm up. (refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009)
3. Prehab: The focus to stregthen the most vulnerable areas on your body that get stressed in everyday movement (Verstegen 2004). These exercises will strengthen your shoulders, hips, and core muscles to allow you to correct any muscle imbalances while also preventing injury. 5-8 minutes
4. Core: This puts a little more emphasis on your core muscles. I believe that you should perform exercise that focus on the transverse abdominis, internal/external obliques, and back extensors. 8-10 min
5. Skills and Drills: Even if you are not an athlete, you should still incorporate plyometrics, speed, and agility training into your workouts. 10-15 min
6. Strength: Incorporating weight bearing exercises will allow you to build muscle while increasing strength and power for you muscles. Make sure you use functional movements that are done in multiple planes. No bicep curls!!! 20-30 min
7. Energy System Development (ESD/”cardio”): Run, swim, bike, jump rope, row, and even elliptical your way to achieve optimal cardiovascular shape. However, in ESD training you must keep your heart rate up through a series of sprint intervals… intensity is the key! When is the last time you have seen a fat sprinter? (Verstegen, 2004)
15-30 minutes
8. Regeneration: Foam roll and stretch to correct any muscle imbalances and help speed up recovery. Takes about 10-15 minutes. (Refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009)
This is just the very basic layout of a typical workout routine that covers all forms of physical fitness. In addition, there is so much more detail that goes into every step of this eight step process. If you have question, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at anytime.
Workout of the Day (WOD) POWER!!!
Posted 17 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Challenges
Category Challenges
3 rounds for time…
10 power cleans @ 135 lbs
20 plyo push ups
30 wall ball
40 box jumps 24 inch
50 double unders
Time to Stretch!
Posted 16 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Challenges
Category Challenges
Stretching gets over looked a lot by many people and athletes who are trying to achieve an optimal level of fitness. The reason why flexibility training does not get much attention is because people do not fully understand the concepts of stretching. The main reason why flexibility training is so important is because it will fix muscle imbalances, decrease joint dysfunctions, and decrease overuse injuries. According to Micheal Clark (President and CEO of the National Academy of Sports Medicine) states,
Today’s society is plagued by postural imbalances, primarily owning to sedentary lifestyles caused by the advancements in technology. More people today are spending time in office-related jobs, which require individuals to sit for long hours. More than ever before, flexibility training has become a key component in developing neuromuscular efficiency and decreasing these dysfunctions. (140)
In addition, knowing what type of stretches to use before, during, and after your workout is crucial for correcting muscle imbalances and increasing neuromuscular efficiency. Here are some tips that will help you the next time you workout…
1. Ballistic Stretch: This type of stretching involves bouncing and skipping movements. This of movement is more of a general warm-up to increase the body’s temperature before you start your workout or activity. Arm circles, skips, and bouncing during your stretch are considered ballistic.
2. Static Stretch: Is the process of passively taking a muscle to a point of tension and holding the stretch for a minimum of 20 seconds (Clark, Lucett, & Corn 2008). Static stretching is the most widely used stretch that you see in fitness today. However, the best time to static stretch is after your workout or activity. The only time you should use static stretching before your workout or activity, is if you are really tight in a specific area and you want to loosen it up a bit more.
3. Dynamic/Movement Prep Warm-up: Is lengthening the muscles using force production of your own body weight. The reason that I also call it “Movement Prep” is because you are preparing the body for the movements that you will use during exercise or competition. This type of stretching should be executed right after a general warm-up (jog, jumping jacks, jump rope, etc.) and before your workout or competition. Some basic dynamic warm-ups consist of body-weighted squats, lunges, multiplanar lunges, push-ups, dips, figure skaters, etc. 1 set of 6-10 reps is enough for you to get warmed up.
4. Active Isolated Stretch (AIS): The process of using agonist (prime mover) and synergist (assist the prime mover) to move the joint into a range of motion. AIS is somewhat like static stretching but, in AIS you are stretching the muscle for 1-2 seconds and then relaxing. You would want to perform 1-2 sets of 5-10 reps of a stretch. AIS should be done before your workout or even during your workout to help clear up lactic acid.
5. Self-Myofascial Release (SMR): Also known as “Foam Rolling” this stretching technique focuses on the neural system and the fibrous tissue that surrounds and separates muscle tissue. This fibrous tissue sometimes sticks to the muscles and forms adhesions or “knots”. Using a foam roll (or softball, tennis ball, golf ball, etc) to apply gentle pressure (your bodyweight) to a muscle that might feel tight. Roll around that specific muscle and try to find knots or tender spots. Once you have located knot, apply pressure for a minimum of 30 seconds or until the pain goes away. The best time to SMR is after your workout or competition; however you can also SMR before you workout to loosen up muscles that might be extra tight.
So stretch dam it! Correct those muscle imbalances and stay injury and pain free
Quick Tips about Nutrition
Posted 15 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Weight Loss
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Weight Loss
1. Eat five to six small meals a day.
2. Stay away from high sugar foods like candy, sodas, or ice cream
3. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and nuts throughout the day
4. Stay away from fast food
5. Eat lean proteins throughout the day
6. If you really want to cut weight, only eat starch-containing foods (bread, rice, cereal, etc) in the morning for breakfast or immediately after your workout.
7. Drink water and limit your consumption of liquid calories (soda, juice, beer, etc.).
8. Have a cheat day in which you can eat whatever you want. However, the best time to pig out is right after you workout (metabolic window)
9. Record everything you eat and the times you eat. This will allow you to keep on track with your diet and stick with it.
10. If you eat out, eat half of what you ordered and take the other half home and consume it at another time.
“Yin Yang” Workout of the Day (WOD)
Posted 14 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges, Weight Loss
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges, Weight Loss
Complete this workout as fast as possible (AFAP) for time. After you have finished your workout, record and post your times.
Run 400 meters
21 Thrusters (squat to overhead press) 30 lbs dumbbells
21 Pull ups
21 Burpees
21 Sit ups
Run 400 meters
15 Thrusters (30 lbs DB)
15 Pull ups
15 burpees
15 Sit ups
Run 400 meters
9 Thrusters (30 lbs DB)
9 Pull ups
9 burpees
9 Sit ups
This workout should not take more than 25 minutes to complete. If you cannot do pull ups, you can regress the exercise to jumping pull ups.
The Best Core Exercise
Posted 12 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges
The fitness world goes through these phases in which certain exercise and theories get the most attention. Today, core training receives the most popularity among people who are trying to shape up their mid-section and achieve 6-pack greatness. However, the core is comprised of muscle located in the center of the body that stabilizes the body when it is in an upright position. When you walk, run, jump, squat, and lift weights you are using your core muscles. These muscles also control the head, neck, ribs, spine, and pelvis (Dominques & Gajda 1982). In addition, achieving a strong core will allow for greater neuromuscular efficiency, an increase in functional strength, and leads to improved performance on and off the field.
I believe that the best exercise to train your core is the overhead squat (OHS). The overhead squat is a very physically demanding exercise that not only challenges your core but, also every muscle in your body. If you have never done an overhead squat before, you must first start out light and focus on maintaining proper form throughout the whole exercise. A good way to practice is to start out using a PVC pipe or a broom stick. Using a wide grip, extend the bar over your head slightly behind your ears by retracting your scapula (shoulder blades) and maintain that position. Set your feet into a good squatting position while keeping your torso upright and your eyes focused straight ahead. Now, take a deep breath and hold it as you descend as deep as possible making sure that your heels are flat on the ground and your hips pushed back. When you are ready to ascent from your squat, stand up slowing and exhale while keeping your chest upright and your heels still flat on the ground.
Practice makes perfect! The more OHS you do will lead to greater flexibility, strength, and core strength. It is also a great way to correct a lot of muscle imbalances you may have, which will help you prevent injuries from occurring and allowing you to move more efficiently.
Treadmill Training
Posted 11 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Challenges, Weight Loss
Category Challenges, Weight Loss
Put down the weights and tighten up those shoe laces for a workout that will have you burning more calories than you can ever imagine. In this workout you will have to be comfortable with running at high speeds on the treadmill and most importantly hoping off the treadmill while it is still going. For instance, on pretty much every treadmill there are ledges on the side of the rotating belt that are big enough for you to step on to and rest if you have to. You might have done this before when you were running on the treadmill one day and stepped off to the side to rest, get a drink of your water bottle, and then you proceeded to complete your run. However, in this workout you will be allowed to rest/hop off the treadmill after every assigned run, but the rest you take should not exceed past 45 seconds. In addition, there will be some runs in which you will hold on to the rail in front of you (usually where the heart rate monitors are) and perform the run. This workout is not easy! If you need to take more rest or adjust the intensity (speed/incline) do so to meet your needs. On the other hand…PUSH YOURSELF
Here’s how it goes…
| Run |
Time |
Speed |
Incline |
| 1. Warm up |
1 – 2 minutes |
Your choice |
Your choice |
| 2. |
30 sec |
7 |
5 |
| 3. |
30 sec |
7 |
6 |
| 4. |
15 sec |
8 or 7 |
8 |
| 5. |
15 sec |
8.5 or 7.5 |
8 |
| 6. |
15 sec HOLD |
9 or 8.5 |
10 |
| 7. |
15 sec |
8.5 or 7.5 |
10 |
| 8. |
15 sec HOLD |
9.5 or 8.5 |
12 |
| 9. |
15 sec |
9 or 7.5 |
12 |
| 10. |
10 sec |
9.5 or 8 |
15 |
| 11. |
10 sec |
9.9 or 8 |
15 |
| 12. |
10 sec |
9.9 or 8 |
15 |
| 13. |
10 sec |
9.9 or 8 |
15 |
| 14. Cool down |
30 |
7 |
10 |
| 15. |
30 sec |
5 |
5 |
| 16. |
2 min |
3 |
2 |
This prescribed workout is for elite athletes who are comfortable at running high speed on the treadmill, as well as hoping off while the treadmill belt while it is still moving. If you feel that you are going to fly off the treadmill because it is too intense, decrease the intensity (speed/incline) so you don’t kill yourself. This workout will allow you to burn a lot of calories and also increase your speed, agility, and joint proprioception (joint awareness). Have Fun!
Measuring Aerobic Performance
Posted 09 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Uncategorized
Category Uncategorized
Are you in good cardiovascular shape???
A good way to check if you are getting into cardiovascular shape is to check your resting heart rate (RHR). To get an accurate reading of your RHR, you must take your pulse just after you wake up, while you are still lying in bed. The best way to do it is to take your carotid pulse by lightly placing two fingers on the side of your neck, just to the side of the larynx (throat). Once you have found your pulse, count the pulses for 60 seconds and record that number (or count pulses for 30 seconds and then times it by 2). If you are training properly, you should see a decrease in the amount of pulses in 60 seconds.
What is this important?
1. Your heart is getting stronger: Seeing a decrease in RHR means that your stroke volume (SV) is getting stronger. SV is the amount of blood the heart pumps out in a single beat. Having an efficient SV will allow your heart to not work as hard to supply oxygen to your active muscles.
2. Blood Volume: With your heart getting stronger, there will be an increase in blood volume and it will be easier for blood to supply oxygen to your active muscles and also clear up lactic acid.
a. Lactic acid is the burning sensation you feel in your legs if you sprint up a flight of stairs. In other words…lactic acid = muscle fatigue. The increase in blood volume will buffer away lactic acid and keep you going longer.
3. Increase in VO2max: Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is regarded as one of best measurements of aerobic performance. It is the maximal volume of oxygen that your body can consume per minute and used for aerobic energy production.
What if you see an increase in RHR through your training program?
1. You are overtrained: This is a good indicator that you need to rest so your body can recover. Overtraining will lead to a decrease in performance, decrease in motivation, decrease in weight, and an overall decrease in energy.
2. You are detrained: Your body cannot increase in performance if you don’t train properly. This means you must increase in frequency, time, and intensity in your workouts. The body adapts to everything you throw at it so challenge yourself every time you train. If you train correctly, you will see a decrease in your RHR.
The normal values for relative (mL/kg/min) VO2for various groups of individuals?
Untrained College-aged Females 30-35 mL/kg/min
Untrained College-aged Males 35-45 mL/kg/min
Active College-aged Females 40-45 mL/kg/min
Active College-aged Males 45-50 mL/kg/min
Trained College-aged Females 50-60 mL/kg/min
Trained College-aged Males 55-65 mL/kg/min
Competitive College-aged Males 65-85 mL/kg/min
Highest measured VO2max ~95 mL/kg/min
A strong heart leads to a strong performance
Motivation
Posted 08 Jun 2009 — by Brandon
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges, Weight Loss
Category Building muscle, strength, and power, Challenges, Weight Loss
60% of Americans live a non-active sedentary lifestyle. The lack of motivation of not being physically active has lead to the increase rates of obesity in America. In 2006, 33% of men and 35% of women were considered obese. In addition, 16% of children aged 2 – 19 years old fell into this same category.
Here are some tips to build, increase, and maintain motivation so you can stay physically active and life a healthy life style.
1. Write down your goals and post it somewhere in which you will see it every day. A good place to place your goals is in your bathroom mirror.
2. Tell family and friends about you fitness goals. This will allow the people around you to support you and keep you motivated on what you are trying to achieve. If you start to slack (trust me you will slack) they will be around to let you know that you are not doing all you can to achieve success.
3. Keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings about your workout and daily activities. This will allow you to adjust what you are doing in your everyday life.
4. Workout with other people and compete in challenges. This will allow you to work harder and have you strive to be the best. If you do not have that “Play to Win” attitude, you will not succeed on achieving your fitness goals.
5. Visualize! Take five minutes out of your day and close your eye to visualize yourself doing what you want to do, where you want to be, and how you are going to succeed. Make sure that the thoughts in your head are as vivid as possible. This is not easy…However, with practice you will get better at controlling your thoughts and feelings. The body and mind work as one, if you’re not mentally prepared you will fail in what you set out to accomplish.
Following these tips will allow you to stay focus and not give up on your fitness dreams.
