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 8/27

Workout of the Day (WOD) 8/27

Today is a good day to hit the weights. After a day of rest your body should be ready for a little extra work.

Warm up
1 Mile Run Steady Pace
Stretch

Start off with a weight you are comfortable with

Bench-15 Reps
Squat- 15 Reps
Curls- 15 Reps
Tricep Extension - 15 Reps

Add 5 pounds to each workout

Bench - 10 Reps
Squat - 10 Reps
Curls - 10 Reps
Tricep Extenson - 10 Reps

Add 5 pounds to each workout (this should be a difficult weight and expect to only be able to do a few reps)

Bench - (5-8) Reps
Squat - (5-8) Reps
Curls - (5-8) Reps
Tricep Extenson - (5-8) Reps

Now that the weight lifting is done, I always like to throw in a little calisthenics at the end. 

Max Reps
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Dips
Sit-ups

Cool Down

Bike/Walk - 5 Mins
Stretch

This should be a difficult workout and you should feel exhausted when you are done. Embrace that feeling!

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)

WOD 8/19

Workout of the day (WOD) 8/19
3 sets of the following:

75 Jumping Jacks
30 Squats
30 Burpees
30 Push-ups
50 Sit-ups
20 Calf Raises (for more range of motion use a step)

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.