Fartlek- Increase your run times and overall fitness level

This workout will help you increase your speed during runs. The military lives by this type of workout because it not only works your speed and endurance but it allows other full body workouts to be thrown in the middle. This creates an excellent total body workout and is guaranteed to help you increase your endurance and take minutes off your long distance runs. The training will start of fairly easy and as the weeks go on become more and more difficult. The first week will allow you to adjust to the cardio aspect of the workout. After that the full body workouts will be placed into the fartlek.

Repeat 3-4 Times

1-      Run ½ mile at your goal pace

• Walk/jog between 1/4 - 1/8 of a mile
• Week 2+ workout

Repeat 4-6 Times

2-      Run ¼ mile at your goal pace

• Walk/jog between 1/5 - 1/10 of a mile
• Week 2+ workout

Repeat 4-6 Times

3-      Run 1/8 mile at your goal pace

• Walk/jog between 50-100 yards
• Week 2+ workout

Pick and choose what workouts to add in to your circuit. The amount of reps during each workout will be set by you. Each workout should be tough, yet you still should be able to accomplish it. The workouts to be added in are as follows:

Push-ups- Variants may be added (ex. Wide/narrow push-ups, diamond push-ups)

Planks- Get in the starting position for a pushup. From that position, you can stay as you are or drop down to your elbows. Make sure your core is tight and your body is straight. Stay in that position until you no longer can.

Sit-ups- You can add a twist or other variations if desired.

Up-Downs/Body Builders- There are two different variations of this workout that can be used for beginners or more advanced individuals.

• Up-Downs- For beginners, simply from a standing position crouch down and push your feet out so you will be in a plank position. Then jump your feet back in and return to the standing position.
• Body Builders- Advanced, from the standing position crouch down and push your feet out until you are in the plank position. From here you will do a push-up, bring your feet back underneath you and return to the standing position. From here you will jump straight up and reaching your hands above your head. This process is then repeated.

Mountain Climbers- From the plank or standing position, bring your knees to your chest in a running motion. Continue for 30 sec to 1 min.

Be sure to know your limits and be sure you are doing the workouts correctly. Don't hurt yourself.

Total Body Circuit

Total Body Circuit- (Approx. 50 mins)

Each workout is 1 minute at maximum effort and 30 sec rest unless otherwise noted. Complete numbers 1-13 of the circuit twice.

1-      Push-ups

2-      Bodyweight Squats- use only body weight, do not use weights or machines

3-      Pull-ups or pull downs

4-      Bike or Jog (4 minutes)

5-      Mountain Climbers

6-      Sit-ups

7-      Stairs (3 minutes) or Box Jumps

8-      Planks

9-      Jumping Jacks

10-   Jump Tucks

11-   Towel Races or Bear Crawls

12-   V-up Sit-ups

13-   Body Builders

14-   Light Bike or Jog (Cool Down)

15-   Stretch

Alternatives for the Circuit

Star Jumps

Jump Rope

Diamond push-ups

Tricep Dips

For information on proper form, technique, or how to do a certain workout please contact me or use a reliable site.

Burn Calories Faster With Full Body Moves

Burn Calories faster with full body moves

Everybody today wants weight loss results faster. The fact of the matter is the only way you are going to see results is to burn more calories than you take in. To burn more calories than you eat you have to workout. However, you do not need to do the usual boring lifts that only focus on one muscle group at a time. It is common sense that the more you move, the more calories you can burn. So why not do workouts that involve moves that make you move your whole body? Not only will you burn more calories, but by working more muscle groups with one move, you can also cut the amount of time you workout in half. In fact, by doing full body moves you can burn the same amount of calories in 10 minutes that would take you close to 20-30 minutes to do when only lifting one muscle group at a time. Below you can see a short list of full body moves that can help you burn more calories faster:

Lunge with a twist- Start by lunging forward, once at the bottom of the lunge twist your body to the knee that is out in front of you. Return to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg. This works your legs as well as your core.

Squat with a military press- Standing with a dumbbell of your choice in each hand keeping your back straight squat down as far as you can go, do not hurt yourself! Then stand back up and press the dumbbells above your head. This workout will work your legs as well as your shoulders, arms, and back.

Body Builders- With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat, thrust your legs back, do a pushup, pull your legs back under, and jump as high as you can out of the squat position (alt. do jumping jack).

Side Lunge Kick- Lunge out with your left leg to the left side of your body. On your way back to the starting position, with your right leg kick to the right side of your body.

If you would like to know more moves that incorporate multiple muscle groups in one move let me know, or google full body workout moves to help you find more. 

Working out- Tips to get back in the game

I know how it feels to walk into a gym and be completely overwhelmed with all the different pieces of equipment and even with all the other people around you. You may feel out of place and insecure about yourself; however, the fact that you made the decision to actually go there says a lot about yourself! Don't let fit people at the gym intimidate you into not going back. Everybody has to start somewhere. Make sure you set up a workout schedule and follow it! DON'T QUIT!

Basic tips to make sure you are successful at the gym. 

First make sure you are not lifting too much or too little. This is a very easy mistake to do and it is easily correctable. In determining if you are lifting too much, typically the minimum amount of reps you do each set should be 8. If you cannot get 8 reps you are trying to lift too much weight and should drop down a few pounds. To determine if the weight is too light, you want to be able to get a good burn within 10-15 reps. If you hit 15 reps and still don't feel fatigued the weight is probably t0o light and you could put a few more pounds on there.

Know what works better for you, free weights or machines. I personally like free weights because not only does it work the muscle you are trying to work, but it also works a lot of little stabilizing muscles. These muscles are very beneficial to preventing injury and can also help you perform better in sports or other activities. However, don't hurt yourself using free weights if you do not know the proper lifting forms. It is very important that you know the proper lifting form before you try a workout. If you need help, ask anybody working there to give you a spot or just check your form, they will help you. If you do not know the proper forms or just don't feel comfortable doing it, feel free to use the machines.

Muscle Groups- On days you go to the gym be sure you are not lifting the same muscles as the day before. Your muscles need a day or two to recover so lifting different muscle groups different days is very beneficial. Typically its upper body one day lower body the next. However, if you are going to the gym everyday you can separate the upper body into two days doing the pushing muscles one day (chest/triceps) followed up by the pulling muscles the next day (biceps/back) and finally ending in lower body on the third day. DON'T FORGET YOUR LOWER BODY- I see it more times than not people only want to work on their arms and upper body because those are the "glamour muscles" or the muscles that everybody can see. But having a strong lower body is essential for  your bodies performance. Not to mention you look funny when you have a HUGE upper body and your legs look like tooth picks. 

Women- Don't be scared to lift heavier weights in fear of having too big of muscles. I hear it all the time that women stick to lighter weights so that they don't "bulk up". The reality of it is this just won't happen. In fact by lifting slightly heavier weights you will gain a little muscle. I'm not telling you to start maxing out but instead of the usual 5-10 pounds, try doing 15 or just slightly more. By building a little muscle, it will in turn make you look more toned and defined which is what most people want!

WATER- Lastly do not forget to hydrate! Keeping your body hydrated ensures you are performing at the best of your capabilities and you do not get light-headed and pass out in the middle of the gym!

Benefits of Plyometrics

Benefits of Plyometrics

The key to every athlete’s performance is balance, speed, and power. There are several different workouts and techniques that are guaranteed to help you slim down, run faster, jump higher, increase strength, have a strong core, and become the athlete you want to be. The best-known solution to helping you increase in all these categories is plyometrics. Plyometrics are the combination of several workouts that include moving your feet quickly (speed), jumping, muscle conditioning and strength (power), and core strength (balance). By combining these into one circuit, you get an awesome workout that is guaranteed to help increase your performance in no time. Don’t believe me? Go watch any professional sports team train. You will see them doing a lot of exercises that involve them doing quick explosive drills otherwise known as plyometrics. During these workouts, you typically use more than just one set of muscles, which is why plyos are so beneficial. The more muscle groups you use in one move, the more your body has to work, the more calories you burn, the faster you see results. A plyometric circuit is the best workout to guarantee you see results fast.  Plyos are usually very intense and can take a toll on your joints and muscles which is why it is essential for you to warm up and stretch before you begin your workout. Also, ensure you are doing each move correctly with the proper form to also help prevent injury. There are many different plyometric workouts that can help you increase all aspects of your performance. Below I will list several different plyometric moves that can be placed into one circuit to help your overall performance. The plyometric moves are as follows:

·         

       Butt Kickers

·         High Knees

·         Ladder Drills

o   In and outs

o   Icky’s

o   High knee through ladder

o   Lateral high knees- (sideways)

o   2in-2out

o   One legged hops

o   Ski jumps

·         Skip Kicks

·         Mummy Kicks

·         Jump Tucks

·         Vertical Jumps

·         Lateral Bounds

·         Split Jumps

·         Box Jumps

·         Dot Drill

This is just a small list of available moves. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to comment below! If you do not know how to do these moves, simple explanations and step by step guides can be found on Google. 

Circuit Training - Benefits and Common Mistakes

It is proven again and again that circuit training is a very powerful technique to help see results faster. Now pretty much any workout can be considered a circuit since most of the time people go from one workout to another in a somewhat ordered processes; however, there are several mistakes or key elements that people forget about when they hit the gym.

One of the most important aspects that people forget about is keeping your heart rate up. I see it ALL the time, people go in do one set, get up and then like 3 minutes later do another set. Sure if all you're trying to do is build muscle this will work, but in terms of getting an overall workout you're doing very little. In order to burn calories and hopefully lose weight, you have to keep your heart rate up. To do this, you must have limited breaks in between sets. I'm not saying do one set after another after another but instead limit your break between sets to 30 seconds or 1 minute.  Circuits are designed to be fast paced which in turn gives you an awesome muscle-building, calorie burning workout.

The second element that I believe is very important is mixing up the types of lifts or activities being done in the workout. I'm sure many people have heard of the term muscle confusion training. For those of you who have not, basically it's where you never do the same workout over and over. Your body gets use to things and eventually the workout will not be as effective. There for by mixing up the activities in each workout, you in turn get better results.

Overall circuit training can be very beneficial. By decreasing the down time in between sets, this keeps the heart rate up giving you not only the strength training you wanted but also gives you some endurance and cardio training as well. Having your heart rate up the whole time also increases the amount of calories you burn during your workout. Lastly and one big reason I love circuits so much is keeping the pace fast, this decreases the amount of time your total workout takes! There are many many different circuits and fine tuning them to your level of fitness is key. Know your limits and make sure you keep good form. I will be posting circuits I have personally created and or found in the past which will hopefully help others in their training.

Weight Loss - Diet tips

In today's world of greasy fast foods only seconds away from anyone it is easy to see how losing weight can be challenging. Many jobs don't allow long lunch breaks so many people resort to fast foods. Trust me I know I have resorted to this many times and then wonder how come I can't lose any weight. Eating healthy takes a little longer and costs a little more, sacrifices that most people are not willing to do. However, I promise you that if you sacrifice a little and get fruits, vegetables and lean meat; you will find that weight will start to shed right off of you. These are a few simple tricks I have personally used to help me reach my fitness goals while still getting the proper nutrition.

WATER!

Drink lots and lots of water! Your body's metabolism will actually increase by drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. I personally drink more than that but that is the recommended amount. Also, by drinking more water, it fools your body into thinking you are full. So by drinking a large glass of water before each meal, you will typically eat slightly less. This reduces your food intake for each meal and the day and there for helps you lose weight. Water helps keep you hydrated and helps keep your body functioning correctly so drink it! Also if you want to change it up a little I have heard adding lemons to your water will help you lose weight as well.

Tips-

Keep it colorful! Most fruits and vegetables are very colorful, so the more color you see on your plate the chances are the healthier the meal will be for you. One quick tip, your body can metabolize cooked vegetables a lot faster than raw vegetables, so throw them on a skillet or in the oven for a couple mins before you eat them.

The first thing is to eat breakfast no later than one hour after waking up. This is very important in helping speed up your metabolism for the whole day and to replenish nutrients that your body lost while you were sleeping. Now if you're like me and get your workouts in the morning and don't want to eat a big breakfast before hand, I have a trick that I follow. I like to eat a piece of fruit or two before the workout, this starts your metabolism and refuels your body with essential nutrients while not making you so full you feel sick during your workout. Then once the workout is done, a protein drink or meal (eggs) helps give your body the full breakfast desired.

Another thing to remember is just because you worked out today doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want. Sure its fine a couple times a week to go out and stuff yourself, but if you eat that way everyday it doesn't matter how much you workout you will not see good results.

Remember that smaller portions of food more often is also beneficial. Instead of eating one or two large meals a day and starving yourself the rest, it has been shown that eating small meals throughout the day helps keep your metabolism up and there for helps you lose more weight. Also, cut out the late night snacks! Try to not eat anything after 8-pm because your metabolism naturally slows down as the day goes on so eating later at night there is a better chance that food will be stored as fat rather than used up.

If you would like, try making a smoothie or meal replacement drink instead of having an actual meal. These are great alternatives and fairly cheap to make, especially the smoothies. You can find frozen fruits at any local grocery store. Add the frozen fruits in a blender with any fruit juice, milk, or even just some water to help make it not as thick. Since the fruits are already frozen you do not need to add any extra ice, ice cream, or frozen yogurt. These smoothies are delicious and you can't get much healthier and get better nutritious than drinking frozen fruits with not extra sugars or anything. One last thing if you just got done with a workout, feel free to add one scope of protein powder in the blender to give you that extra protein and vitamins you may want.

SUGAR

I know that a lot of people always look at the amount of calories and fat in foods; however, one value that most people skip over is the sugar in the products. The amounts of sugar in foods can be more harmful than that of the fats or calories. For instant the product may only have 100 calories but if it contains 30 grams of sugar this product is not good at all. In fact, most experts agree that the human body should only intake a maximum of about 30 grams of added sugar a day. It has been proven that the average person eats approximately 130 pounds of sugar a year. Think of how much weight you could lose if you cut half of that sugar out! (examples of easy sugar filled products to cut out of your diet- SODAS, candy & sweets)

Obesity Rate Sore

Obesity Rates Sore interesting link I found on the obesity rate.

Tips to Prevent Injury While Working Out

Tips to prevent injury while working out

One of the biggest issues when beginners start training and working out is that they end up getting hurt. There are several main reasons why this happens.

The first big reason why people get hurting when working out is that they have improper form. They do not know exactly how to do each workout so they are placing extra weight and pressure on joints and muscles. This usually ends up in a muscle strain or pull, but occasionally in a worst-case scenario, you may see bones, ligaments, or tendons break.  To prevent this make sure you have a guide on how to do each workout, a gym employee, or a trainer look over you and make sure you are doing it right. Do not rush your workouts either, keep good form over doing one or two extra reps. This is the simplest way to prevent injury that only takes a couple minutes to do.

The second reason why people get hurt in the gym is trying to lift too much. Know your limits and know how much you can or can’t lift. If you try to lift too much, you are more likely to strain or pull a muscle, which will just set your training back even more. So make sure you have a spotter when lifting and make sure you are not lifting too much to help prevent injury.

The nest reason people get hurt is not properly warming up. Before working out you should warm up your muscles and joints. This can be anything from running for 5 minutes to doing some simple jumping jacks or so on. Warming up your body is essential to ensure everything is ready for the workout you are about to put it though. A warm up is something quick that gets your blood flowing so do not skip over this step.

Another reason why people get hurt is because they do not stretch enough or stretch the right way. This is especially important if you are planning to do cardio. It is very easy to pull a muscle while doing cardio so make sure after your warm up you stretch good. To make a stretch beneficial to you, you have to hold it for a minimum of 20-30 seconds. Anything less than that does very little.  In addition, it has been shown that stretching after a workout is equally as important as stretching before a workout. By stretching after a workout, you help break up and release built up acids in your muscles, which actually helps speed up the recovery of your muscles, and helps prevent you from being as sore the next day.  

100 Weight Loss Tips

100 Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Pills

Weight loss pills

In today’s fast-paced world, people are always looking for the easiest and fastest way to lose weight. One of the biggest sellers today is diet pills. There are a tremendous amount of different brands and types of diet pills out there. The real question is, do they work and what are they doing to your body. Weight loss pills are typically a ton of caffeine, up to 5 times the amount that a normal person takes in. This causes your heart rate to speed up and causes you to have a lot of energy. In turn, you may lose a little more weight than you would have if you did not take the pills however; the damages to your body are not good. Most diet pills require you to take 6+ pills throughout a day to ensure that you lose weight. If you add that, much caffeine and chemicals to your body of course you will lose weight. However, I do not recommend it. These pills are not good for you body and can cause you more harm than good. I recommend setting up a good better diet and workout plan because those combined will be 5 times more successful than diet pills. Not only will you lose a lot of weight with the proper nutrition and a workout plan but also it will set you up for lifelong success rather than gaining it all right back once the bottle runs out. However, if you do choose to use diet pills hoping it will speed up the process, I recommend using the minimum dosage once a day rather than the maximum dosage. This will lessen the side affect you may receive from the pills. If you have a solid diet and workout plan, you will see results fast enough. I would say just workout and diet; you don’t need pills to accomplish your weight loss. Stop trying to skip corners and start on your journey to a healthier life. I hope this helps you decided on what you want, I know I didn’t talk about any diet pills specifically because I do not know enough about each product out there, as I said there are hundreds. 

Finding Time to Workout

Growing up I was always the athletic guy in school. I played multiple sports and was always doing something active. However, once sports ended for me I found it hard to find time to workout and stay in shape. I almost completely stopped working out except for the occasional walk and I put on several pounds. I hated the way things were going for me and after a couple of years I decided it was time to change. I looked at what exactly I was doing each day and when I could fit in time to workout. I found that some days I had several opportunities to workout for a longer period of time while other days I only had several minutes of free time.

On the days I had a little more time, I decided that I was going to try to make it to the gym or at least have a more intense cardio workout. I tried several different things such as workout dvds and other similar products;however, for the majority of the time on the days I had time I tried to make it to the gym (at max 3 times a week). I focused on lifting weights there since I didn't have the right equipment at home. The other days where I didn't have time to drive all the way to the gym, I found it nice to go for a run or walk outside. The workout dvds helped on these days as well but I hate working out inside when the weather outside if beautiful. I figured anything was better than just sitting around doing nothing.

On the days were I almost no time to workout, I came up with several things I could do without having to wake up an hour earlier to have time to workout. Each morning I would wake up and before doing anything, do a set of max push-ups.This got my blood pumping and usually helped me wake up and it all took less than one minute of my day. I found that it took me exactly 8 minutes to go for a quick run around my block which I did each morning as well. Both workouts not only get your metabolism up and running for the day but take less than 10 mins to do! Then at night I would come home and if work wasn't too draining for the day I would run around my block one more time.

I know that everyone has things they need to do during the day, but there are many small things that take just a few minutes to complete that can really help make the difference between losing weight and not losing any. It's time to stop making excuses and time to actually make it happen. The sooner you make the decision that you want to lose weight or just get back in shape, the sooner you will see results. I have tried many different workouts and diets that you can find on other pages. I know this didn't have very much information in it but I'm hoping that it will help motivate some of you to start making a change. It's the little things you do that make the difference.