WOD 8/26

Workout of the Day (WOD) 8/26

For me I find it easier to make time for long hard workouts on the weekends. Therefore, I usually have my rest day be Monday. Not only is it the first day of the work week, but you are likely to be more tired than any other day of the week. My advice take Monday off, rest up, and get ready to hit it hard again on Tuesday.

30 Day Fitness Challenge

In the last month I have seen several 30 Day Fitness Challenges pop up. All seem to have good parts and pieces but none of them had a solid overall workout.  I have created a combination of a couple different ones that I believe will give you an all around great workout and that I have currently been participating in. Keep in mind this does not have to be your total source of working out each day. I have been able to incorporate this challenge into my daily routine to spice things up a little. If you feel up to it give it a shot and let me know how it goes! Also, some of you may not be able to start off with 20 reps of each. If you have to start off with 10 or 15 reps of each that is fine, just remember to push yourself and try your best and you will see results.

Rules:
Do not break into sets
Complete one exercise before moving onto the next
Know your limits and use proper form

Day 1 20 Jumping Jacks
         20 Burpees
         20 Squats
         20 Push-ups
         20 Sit-ups

Day 2 25 Jumping Jacks
         25 Burpees
         25 Squats
         25 Push-ups
         25 Sit-ups

Day 3 30 Jumping Jacks
          30 Burpees
          30 Squats
          30 Push-ups
          30 Sit-ups

Day 4 REST (Keep doing these same 5 workouts each day. I am going to write out how many reps of each should be done on that day)

Day 5 - 35 Reps
Day 6 - 40 Reps 
Day 7 - 45 Reps
Day 8 REST
Day 9 - 50 Reps
Day 10 - 55 Reps
Day 11 - 60 Reps
Day 12 Rest
Day 13 - 65 Reps
Day 14 - 70 Reps
Day 15 - 75 Reps
Day 16 REST
Day 17 - 80 Reps
Day 18 - 85 Reps
Day 19 - 90 Reps
Day 20 REST
Day 21 - 95 Reps
Day 22 - 100 Reps
Day 23 - 105 Reps
Day 24 Rest
Day 25 - 110 Reps
Day 26 - 115 Reps
Day 27 - 120 Reps
Day 28 Rest
Day 29 - 125 Reps
Day 30 - 130 Reps
Complete!! 

If you made it through the whole challenge congratulations! Feel free to share your results and let me know if you liked it or not! 

WOD 8/20

Workout of the Day (WOD) 8/20
Circuit 1 Minute Each Max effort (20 Mins)

Sprint
Push-ups
Mountain Climbers
Burpees
Flutter Kicks
Jumping Jacks

Sprint
Push-ups
In & Outs
One Legged Hops (Both Legs)
Sit-ups
Pull-ups

Sprint
Dips
Burpees
Squats

Sprint
Sit-ups
Push-ups
Pull-ups

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.