WOD 8/29

Workout of the Day (WOD) 8/29

Calisthenics 

Warm up
1 Minute Jumping Jacks
Stretch

Run 1.5 Miles
Max Set of Push-ups
Max Set of Dips
Max Set of Body Weight Squats
15 - Burpees

Run 1 Mile
Max Set of Sit ups
1 Minute - Mountain Climbers
1 Minute - Planks
1 Minute - Flutter Kicks

Run .5 Mile
Max Set of Push-ups
Max Set of Dips
Max Set of Body Weight Squats
Max Set of Pull-ups
Max Set of Sit-ups

WOD 8/25

Workout of the Day (WOD) 8/25
Sorry for delay between posts, but here today's WOD. CARDIO

Run 1 Mile

Repeat 4 times

1. Body Weight Squats (15)
2. Sprint for 25 Seconds
3. Rest 30 Seconds

Repeat 3 times

1. Push Ups (15)
2. Sprint for 20 Seconds
3. Rest 30 Seconds

Repeat 2 times

1. Box Jumps (15)
2. Sprint for 15 Seconds
3. Rest 30 Seconds

Run .5 Mile (Cool Down)

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.

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.