How to do a push up properly

Every workout should included a push up. It's a a muscle builder, a back saver, and an athletic supporter!

Doing a push up properly can be very challenging and rewarding when done properly! The thing is many people, particularly women, do them incorrectly. Let's banish mediocritcy and strive to perform perfectly formed push ups. May be you will only be able to do one 'perfectly' but you will get better - don't sacrifice form!

Find your form: Before you can move on, make sure you're actually doing a push-up the right way. Be aware of these four things as you execute a push-up: your body alignment, hands, abs, and breath. Make sure your shoulders are aligned over your wrists and your fingers and palms are spread wide, with pressure focused in your fingertips. Pull your belly button in, keeping your spine straight so your body is in a straight line; make sure to connect your breath with your movements. As you lower, bend your elbows outward to the sides.

Pushups are excellent for toning your core, quads, arms and shoulders. Oh and ladies? Pushups have an awesome (and natural…) wonderbra effect on your rack.

What’s even better: there are tons of varieties on the good ol’ pushup. Ever heard of elevated pushups? One-legged pushups? T-pushups? Superman pushups?  Star pushups? Burpees? One-arm pushups (wth right?)? No? Well sign up for a PT session or join our morning boot camp and we will happily teach these to you?



Dont believe me... Listen to what MensHealth has to say on the topic:

How Pushups Build More Muscle
Logic says the pushup won't build strength unless you're kind of weak to begin with. Its benefits lie elsewhere.

"If you do pushups correctly, you develop your scapular muscles and your rotator-cuff muscles to stabilize your shoulders. If you do bench presses instead of pushups, you don't have to use those muscles as much," says Michael Clark, C.S.C.S., a physical therapist and president of the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

In other words, pushups not only build up the facade in front of your physique, but also develop the support system behind those muscles, too.

Here's why that's important: In every physical action, some muscles act as the engine and some act as the brakes. If the brakes aren't strong and durable enough to counterbalance the engine, you've got an injury waiting to happen.

When a guy comes up with a chronically sore shoulder from bench pressing, for example, the problem is usually that the chest and shoulder muscles are too strong relative to the muscles behind them.

So it makes sense that pushups help improve muscular balance, which is important for developing serious strength. And with strength comes muscle size.

 

Fat loss Workout Tip & Challenge

We all like to think we give 100% when we workout 

but the truth is that many of us (myself included) tend to slack of from time to time which means less fat burning and trouble staying at 

our desired weight, body fat, and fitness levels.

 

My job is to make sure you're working out as hard as you think you are ;-) 

With that said, why not try an outdoor challenge or a race 

like the Rubber Duckie Race here in Burnaby on Oct 16th.

Are you looking for a challenge 
or may be a qualitative test to see how strong and far you have progressed since joining bootcamp - THIS IS IT!

CardioCore will be at this race providing the warm up, water station and post stretch tent so come bye and say "hi!"

Need a bunny pacer? I would be happy to run a long side you to keep you company!
Give your CardioCore Conditioning Coach a call. They would be happy to help provide you will the tools to complete this race successfully!

The Rubber Duckie Race is 3 weeks away. More than enough time to train for the 5km (you run at least a quarter of that amount at bootcamp!)


For those who have attended a TRYevent before you can attest to the fun and scenic challenges TRYevents offers.

Can't make it to this race? They have a series of races all over the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island --> check it out here


Receive a $10 Gift Certificate when you REGISTER ONLINE WITH THE RUNNING ROOM.

 

Half Marathon, Half Marathon two-person Relay, 7 Miler, 5K & Kids Run

Race Course Description
This beautiful 21.1K & 7 Mile course circles Burnaby lake, giving you the opportunity to enjoy fresh air, exercise and more chances to view birds and animals in this wilderness environment. Join other walkers & runners on this scenic course throughout the trails of Burnaby Lake.  Located in the middle of the city, Burnaby Lake Regional Park is a stunning wildlife sanctuary. The lake was created by a glacier 12,000 years ago and its shores were home to sawmills in the late 1800's.

Event Name	Until Aug 1	Until Sept 6	Until Oct 11
Half Marathon	$50	$55	$60	Register Now!
7 Miler	$45	$50	$55	Register Now!
5K	$45	$50	$55	Register Now!
Half Relay (Teams of Two)	$80	$85	$90	Register Now!
Online registration closes on October 11th, 11:59 pm. You can still register during race kit pickup.

Receive a $10 Gift Certificate when you REGISTER ONLINE WITH THE RUNNING ROOM.


2011 Shirt, Clour, Design and Medal
TRY EVENTS is excited to pass on the news that our ROCK 10K Brooks woman & men sizing shirts were a huge sucess and we will be using them again for our 2011 Rubber Ducky Half race! Please register early to secure your shirt!

Shirt $25 value

Our new souvenir Brooks Workout Hoody $50
 

This is an extra option event souviner item that has a value by itself before the custom event screening of $60
We are able to offer you this with the custom event screening for $50. It is 100% Polyester and is crafted from moisture wicking yarns designed to ensure cool and comfortable performance like the shirts. These are unisex sizing and will have the event logo on the front and TRY EVENTS Follow the Leader on the back. (no names on the back like past events)

Parking

Finishing medals & Pancake Breakfast included!

CardioCore Fitness - NEW and Improved

	ANNOUNCEMENT! Hi Member, I wanted to send a note to my valued members and give you all a heads up on some exciting developments with CardioCore™ Fitness, formerly known as Cardio-Core Bootcamp. Do you like our new logo? There will be a Press Release going out in the near future (which will explain the name change in detail) to all members across Canada outlining these developments, but I wanted all of you to be the first to know. Firstly, I’d like to introduce you to our new site www.cardiocorefitness.com. When you register for CardioCore™ on the website you’ll be prompted to create a profile. The purpose of this profile section is to allow valued CardioCore™ members 24hr access to over 50 CardioCore™ trainers and owners across Canada. This site will be full of information, education, Q & A and discussions that will help you reach your fitness & health goals. I will personally be updating it weekly with workouts, nutrition tips and sharing great stories coming out of CardioCore™ Burnaby. I trust you will find being a part of our online community of great value to your overall CardioCore™ experience. Secondly, I’d like to introduce you to our NEW Ambassador program - our reward program for dedicated long term members. The Ambassador program keeps you training all year long. As walking, talking examples of fitness and health dedication, CardioCore™ members with more than 3 consecutive months of experience can choose this option. As a CardioCore™ Ambassador you will have the luxury of unlimited training during set monthly schedules, will save money and time spent on re-registration, and can budget payments on a monthly basis for the year. This is the best value for our experienced clients. The details of the program are as follows; 1 year membership - Unlimited workouts for the year.   Prerequisite – 3 consecutive sessions of CardioCore™ Fitness   12 equal monthly payments of $151.20 incl tax (BC) Important! Holiday Crunch Offer! We will offer 6 extra workouts over the holidays for $99 plus HST. Grab a friend and get them moving before the holidays. Why not give them a Tri-Fit Gift card for $29.99 plus HST! Details down below. Become an Ambassador before December 15th and we will include the 2010 Holiday Crunch at no extra charge! The next time you will have to worry about your membership will be December 2011. Christmas Crunch Schedule Contact your individual location for hours of operation. YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE! Give a friend or family member the gift of fitness this holiday season with a TRI-FIT GIFT CARD only $29.99 Redeemable at all CardioCore Locations across Canada! Need extra for corporate incentives purchase 5 for $134.95 + HST.   This is a good way to show your loved one's what CardioCore is all about with a 3 class sampler. We are so proud to train you and we really look forward to next year with all of you. Please feel free to call your trainer directly to discuss your fitness & health goals for 2011. In Good Health, The Cardio-Core Team!

PUMPkin Fun - A Screeeam of a Workout!

Why a pumpkin?
If you think about it, a pumpkin is like a big weighted medicine ball. While I wouldn’t recommend you try bouncing your pumpkin ... you can certainly use it like you would a medicine ball. The thing I love about using a pumpkin is you can get them in all different shapes, sizes, and weights.

When you’re using a medicine ball it’s perfectly round, easy to grip, and has even weight distribution. A pumpkin on the other hand can provide much more of a challenge to your core and abdominal muscles because of the irregular shapes and sizes.


Pumpkin Mountain Climbers
Place both hands on the pumpkin in a push-up position and raise your hips so you have a flat back. Keep your abdominal muscles tight and try to maintain as straight as possible as you bring one leg in towards your chest at a time. Squeeze your abs as you bring the leg in. 10-15 reps per side.

Pumpkin V-sit Twist
Lay on the ground in an upright position with your feet crossed and slightly leaning back. Take the pumpkin with both hands and rotate it side to side. Raise your feet off the ground for more of a challenge on the core. Keep your abs tight throughout the movement. 10-15 reps per side.

Pumpkin Wood Chop
Start by holding your pumpkin straight out in front of your chest and go down into a squat position. As you go down into the squat bring the pumpkin with you and lower it between your legs. Come out of the squat position bringing the pumpkin with you and extending it overhead with your arms straight. Repeat. Keep a flat back and your arms straight through the movement. 10-15 reps.

Pumpkin Diagonal Chop
Start by holding your pumpkin with straight arms but off to one side. Squat down bringing the pumpkin with you, chopping with it in a diagonal arch pattern. Try to keep the pumpkin away from your body and your arms straight as this is what really works the core. Holding the pumpkin close to your body or with “alligator arms” won’t make the exercise very effective.

Pumpkin Squat Thrust
Start with the pumpkin at chest height holding it with both hands. Go down into a squat position and drive back to the starting position while pushing the pumpkin over your head. Return to chest height and repeat. 10 -15 reps

Pumpkin Burpees
With the pumpkin on the floor in front of you,
 squat down to the floor, grab the pumpkin and extend your legs out and back with a jump to assume a push-up 
position. Perform a push-up with your hands on the pumpkin and then reverse 
the movement to stand back up. Repeat for 10-15 reps.

Pumpkin Lunge with Front Raise
Start by holding the pumpkin with both hands to one side at hip level. Step forward into a lunge position and in the process raise the pumpkin overhead with straight arms. Bring the pumpkin up to a point right above your head and then as you come out of the lunge and back to the starting position, chop the pumpkin back to your side. Alternate legs. 10-15 reps per side.

Pumpkin Lateral Reaches
Start by holding the pumpkin with both hands at chest height. Take a big lateral step to one side and lower the pumpkin down over your foot. Push off the lead foot and return to the starting position with the pumpkin at chest height. 10-15 reps per side.

Pumpkin Push-Up’s
This is one of my favorite pumpkin exercises as it really challenges the core and abdominals, not to mention your chest, arms, and shoulders. Now, there are several different variations of ways you can do a pumpkin push-up.

I’ll review the three most common:

Both hands on pumpkin: start with both hands on the pumpkin and get yourself in a push-up position. Lower yourself down towards the pumpkin and then return to the starting position. If this is too difficult, you can go to your knees instead of a plank position for your push-up’s.

One hand on the pumpkin, one hand on the ground: complete your push-up’s this way for a real challenge to your core, but also your shoulder stabilization. Try rolling the pumpkin back and forth between hands for an even greater challenge.

Feet on pumpkin: place both feet on the pumpkin and complete your push-up’s.

Do More in Less Amount of Time

Exercise Efficiently - More Done In Less Time:

Everyone wants more for less. It's human nature. By learning how to exercise in the most efficient way possible, one of two things are true:

1. You get more results in the same amount of time.
2. You get to exercise for less time and get the same results.

Both seem like rather appealing options, right?
It used to be that exercising for increased efficiency meant regulating your heart rate to be in the 'fat-burning zone' of 40-60% max heart rate, or in the 'cardiovascular zone' of 60-85% max heart rate. Now, we know better.
We know that increased efficiency means improving the demand on all 3 energy systems:

1. ATP-PC - 0 to 2 second energy system
2. Anaerobic - 2 to 60 second energy system
3. Aerobic - 60 seconds and beyond energy system

By depleting and replenishing all three energy systems, we are maximizing caloric expenditure, muscular strength, as well as muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
Effectively, we are not multiplying our results by three, but we are exponentially allowing ourselves to burn up to 9x more calories with this approach.

Turkey Burn

Don't have a lot of time to hit the gym? What if I told you in 30 minutes you can burns 450 calories in  — including warm up and cool down. That would take upwards of 55 minutes on a treadmill — and would be boring as hell.

This workout is metabolically demanding, you’ll actually burn calories for up to 36 hours after you’re DONE your workout. So even when you fall asleep on the couch after your Turkey dinner, you’re STILL burning more calories than you normally would.

That’s because your body is working it’s way back to “normal” following the demanding session. During those 30 intense minutes, you aren’t JUST burning calories. You’re using up muscle fuel, ripping muscle tissue, and pressing your hormones into action.

All that metabolic activity is what forces your body to rebuild afterward — burning more calories in the process. Oh, and it also makes you a bit like a Million Bucks! You come back for your next workout a little faster and a little stronger than you were before! Cool, huh?

Try this workout:


DYNAMIC WARM UP - 5 minutes
• Jumping jacks
• Flings
• Seal (cross over) jump jacks
• Side shuffle
• Prisoner squats
• Leg swings- front, back, side to side hamstring)
• Walking lunges
• High knees
• Bum kicks
• Tuck jumps
• Skipping

Perform 30 seconds work at the highest intensity you can! 

Relax - You get 30 seconds of rest in between :-D 

You will do 4 rounds of each super set.

Superset #1

1A: 1 leg Push Ups (30 seconds) *see modifications below
REST 30 seconds
1B: Body Weight Jump Squat (30 seconds) *see modifications below
REST 30 seconds


Repeat this superset 4 times!

Superset #2


2A: Front Alternating Lunge with a Shoulder Press (30 seconds)
REST 30 seconds
2B: Pull Ups (30 seconds) *see modifications below
REST 30 seconds


Repeat this superset 4 times!

Your done! 

Congratulations - enjoy your Thanksgiving with your loved ones! 

*Modifications*

1 leg push ups --> Push ups on knees or both toes on ground

Jump Squat --> Standard body weight squat lower down so thighs are parallel with group - no jump!

Pull Ups --> use a resistance band wrapped around pull up bar and around your leg to help with ascent or if at the gym use an assisted pull up machine (you kneel on a platform that helps take the load of lifting your whole body weight) even even that machine is not available nor a pull up bar you can try the Lat Pull Down machine too!

The Super 30 Workout Challenge

This workout is dedicated to the number 30...this may or may not be my age *ahem*

WARM UP: 5 minutes of Dynamic movements ie. arm circles, marching, side shuffle, butt kicks, high knees, cross-overs, walking lunges.

PLEASE NOTE: a beginner should modify and only do one round. Remember to go at own pace and take breaks when needed.

You have 30 exercises to complete - back to back with as least rest possible - for 30 seconds...the major challenge is to do 3 rounds. If you do 3 rounds I give you permission to have a birthday cupcake with me!


1. Shadow boxing
2. Jumping jack (DB) press
3. Sumo squat with upright row
4. Burpee
5. Plank
6. DB Swing (front to side raise)
7. Squat jump
8. Spiderman push up
9. Bird-dog
10. 100m dash

WATER BREAK

11. Dive bomers (aka Hindhu pushups)
12. Wall Squat with Bicep Curl
13. Staggered Push ups
14. Knee's Up
15. Lunge (right) with Tricep Extension
16. Lunge (left) with Tricep Extension
17. Saxon bends
18. Mountain Climbers
19. Superman
20. Sucide shuttle run

WATER BREAK

21. Push up Plank
22. Heel Drop Sweepers
23. Side plank (right)
24. Side plank (left)
25. Skip (side to side; front and back)
26. Curtsy lunge
27. Hip Bridge
28. Bicycle crunch
29. Skater lunge
30. Inchworm

Cooldown - Speed walk 400m

Don't forget to Stretch!!!!

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1.03.01

Kettlebell Fat Burning Workout

Kettlebell Fat Burning Workout

 

  Courtesy of Lauren Brooks

  First warm up with Joint Mobility

  Circuit 1 Set you timer for  30 seconds on and 30 seconds of rest

 

     Push Ups

     Squat with 1 Kettlebell

    2 Handed Swings

    Clean and Press Right

    Clean and Press Left

    2 Handed Swings

     

Repeat for 3 Sets

 

Circuit 2 Set you timer for 45 seconds on and 45 seconds of rest

 

 

    TRX Back Row or One Arm Row Left and Right

    Hand 2 Hand Swings

    Back Lunge Right Leg

    Back Lunge Left Leg

    Burpees

    Plank Hold

 

Repeat for 2-3 sets

Luck of the Draw Workout

 I was given this idea from Valentine Rawat of Rawfit in the UK.


It's a lot of fun and challenging - if you are bored of your regular workout try this!

DECK OF CARDS – require a minimum of 2 deck of playing cards. Separate the Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and Jokers from the numbered cards. Each athlete will pick a random card from the pile of faces decks and one from the numbered deck. The faces cards will define the exercise and the numbered would define the number of reps.


Dynamic Warm-ups

Then:
Ace = Side Burpees
King = KB Swings
Queen = Jack Knives
Jack = KB Jerks
Joker = Sprints of a football/soccer pitch

Workout continues for 45 minutes.

Then:
Cool down and Stretch

ENJOY!

Mens Health Ultimate Medicine Ball Workout

Build a winning physique with this cutting-edge routine from the University of North Carolina's basketball training handbook

Photographs by: John Loomis, Workout Photography by: Beth Bischoff

The Medicine Ball 200
The old-school way to get your body in game shape

Perform this routine at the end of your regular workout or as a stand-alone workout, 3 days a week. (Use a 6-, 8-, or 10-pound medicine ball) Do 20 repetitions of each exercise in the order shown. Complete the routine as a circuit, doing 1 set of each movement in succession and without resting. Too easy? Rest 60 to 90 seconds and do the circuit again.

1. Big Circles Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, hold a medicine ball with your arms extended directly above your head [A]. Without bending your elbows, rotate your arms counterclockwise [B], using the ball to draw large imaginary circles in front your body [C, D]. Do 10 circles, and then reverse direction to clockwise and do 10 more.


2. Woodchopper  Stand with your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart. With your arms nearly straight, hold a medicine ball above your head [A]. Now bend forward at your waist and mimic throwing the ball backward between your legs -- but hold onto the ball the entire time [B]. Quickly reverse the movement with the same intensity, and return to the starting position. That's 1 repetition.



3. Standing Russian Twist  Hold a medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest and your arms straight [A]. Without dropping your arms, pivot on your right foot and rotate the ball and your torso as far as you can to the left [B]. Then reverse direction: Pivot on your left foot and rotate all the way to the right. That's 1 repetition.
4. Squat to Press  Stand holding a medicine ball close to your chest with both hands, your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart [A]. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until the tops of your thighs are at least parallel to the floor [B]. Then simultaneously drive your heels into the floor and push your body back to the starting position as you press the ball over your head [C]. Lower the ball back to the start. That's 1 repetition.

5. Medicine-Ball Situp  Grab a medicine ball with both hands and lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees 90 degrees, place your feet flat on the floor, and hold the medicine ball against your chest [A]. Now perform a classic situp by raising your torso into a sitting position [B]. Lower it back to the start. That's 1 repetition.




6. Rocky Solo  Sit on the floor with your legs straight, and hold a medicine ball with both hands just above your lap [A]. Twist your torso to the right and place the ball behind you [B]. Then twist all the way to your left and pick the ball up and bring it back to the starting position [C]. That's 1 repetition. Do 10 repetitions. Immediately do another 10 repetitions, but this time start by twisting with the ball to your left.

7. Toe Touch  Grab a medicine ball, lie on your back, and raise your legs so they're straight and perpendicular to the floor. Hold the ball above the top of your head with your arms straight [A]. Without moving your legs or bending your elbows, simultaneously lift your arms and torso until the ball touches your toes [B]. Lower yourself back to the starting position. That's 1 repetition.

8. 45-Degree Twist  Grab a medicine ball and sit on the floor. Lean back at a 45-degree angle, raise your legs and feet off the floor, and hold the ball with both hands in front of your chest, your arms straight [A]. Without dropping your legs or arms, rotate the ball and your torso as far as you can to the right [B]. Then reverse direction, rotating all the way to the left. That's 1 repetition.






9. Suitcase Crunch  Lie on your back with your legs straight. Use both hands to hold a medicine ball above your head and barely off the floor [A]. Simultaneously raise your torso and bend your right knee toward your chest as you bring the ball over your knee and toward your foot. Reverse the movement and repeat, this time bending your left knee [B]. That's 1 repetition.


10. Diagonal Crunch  Grab a medicine ball and lie on the floor with your legs straight and spread wide. Roll onto your right hip and hold the ball with your arms straight at 10 o'clock above the top of your head [A]. To perform the movement, raise your arms and torso and then touch the ball to the floor between your legs [B]. Lower your body, but instead of rolling back onto your right hip, roll onto your left and hold the ball at 2 o'clock above your head [C] before you repeat the movement. That's 1 repetition. Repeat, alternating back and forth in this manner.

If Granny can do it - you can do it!

The Any-One-Can-Do-It Workout!
Warmup with mobility exercises for 5 minutes.

Perform each exercise listed below for 45 seconds going from one exercise to the next with about 5-15 seconds to transition between exercises.

Continue repeating the circuit for 30 minutes. Add in 5 minutes of your favorite core exercises then cool down with 10 minutes of mobility and stretches for the entire body. That's a 50 minute full body workout that's great for weight loss, fatloss, endurance, and strength.

Traveling squats w/ sandbag (or medicine ball) press
Rolling ropes
TRX bodyweight rows
Bosu lateral step ups w/sandbell chop
Lebert bars modified pushups
Kettlebell swings
Suicide runs

Modifications: Make this more challenging by going 50 seconds on each exercise and taking no rest between exercises (continous work circuit). Make it easier by doing 30 seconds of each exercise and eliminating all chopping motions, bosu, and/or traveling portion of squat if you (or your clients) do not have the core stability for all that. Also the one thing I would change about this workout is I would set up the lebert bars higher so a person with less upper body strength can just do incline pushups from a standing position.

Have you Plateaued?

Have I Plateaued?

Ask yourself these questions:

• The scale isn’t moving
• Clothes aren’t getting bigger
• You’re hungry all the time
• Exercises aren’t as difficult
• You’re doing the same things, but not getting any results

What’s most frustrating about these signs is the fact that it might seem like you’re doing everything right.  You’re eating what you’re supposed to be eating, working out when you plan to, and even cutting back further than you have to on your chosen diet plan.  What’s going on?

  Why Have I Plateaued?

Thankfully you can generally blame Mother Nature for your metabolic frustrations.  What happens is that as your body changes, it starts to get ‘used’ to the new weight and wants to settle there.  Your body has given you as many results as possible using the current menu and fitness program you’re on.

The reason why your body does this is to avoid starvation.  It senses that it’s not getting as much food as it used to and so it tries to hold onto what you’re giving it.  Or it’s getting used to the exercises that you’re doing, so it’s not responding in the same way.  Basically, your body is leveling out – hence, the term plateau.

What can I do?

But now that you know what a plateau is and what the signs of it can be, you can start to tailor your weight loss routine to prevent or stop a plateau.  What you need to do is change up what you’ve already been doing so that your body has to respond.  This can include several things:

• Increase your calorie intake slightly. Yes you read that right! Too few calories can actually make you gain weight. Make sure your eating the recommended amount for your age and weight. On days you strength train have a few extra calories (no more than 200-300) that come from nutrient rich food (veggies/fruit and protein)
• Increase the intensity of your exercise plan with interval training (READ below)
• Try adding more protein to your diet
• Drink more water

These simple steps can sometimes recharge your body and put it back into fat-burning, weight-losing mode.  A weight loss plateau is something that every dieter will see at one point or another, so don’t feel like you’re not heading in the right direction.  Often, a plateau is that sign that you’re doing a good job already, but that you need to tweak something.

 Forget Long Boring Cardio - Switch To Short Burst Intervals

The shorter, more-intense your session, the more you will burn more overall calories and preserve muscle, which will not only boost your metabolism but help you created that tight and lean look as you reach your ideal body.

True Intervals are simply brief, high intensity periods of exercise (where you work out as intensely as you can for your fitness level) alternated with active recovery periods, where you slow down just long enough to catch your breath.



For Example:

60 Seconds of Jumping Jacks
60 seconds of Marching
Repeat 6-8 times for a total of 10-15 minutes.

The goal – and the effectiveness – is to challenge yourself so that at the end of 10-15 minutes – you have had one heck of a workout! If you could easily go another 10-15 min, then you have not worked hard enough. Go back and increase the effort and intensity.

When you “do” intervals – you dramatically cut the amount of time it takes to workout and see results twice as fast.






What do you Need to DO Intervals?

No special equipment necessary – in fact, the more you USE your Body – the more effective your Fat Loss results!

Body weight intervals are more effective for you are using all the major muscles in your body. They are also great for when you are short on time or cannot leave the house and sure help if you are in need a quick burst of energy.

Studies -as well as countless testimonials of Cardio Queens – prove high intensity cardio workouts “Intervals” can provide all of the following fitness benefits:

* dramatically boost metabolism – both during AND after exercise

* faster rate of body fat-to-energy conversion

* preserves lean muscle (muscle is your metabolism – you do not what to lose this!)

* significant increase in aerobic capacity (Max VO2) = increased endurance and stamina


Please Note:

Working Out Effectively Will Only Take You So Far

Once you are challenging your body, increasing your lean muscle and boosting your metabolism you will lose fat when you are in a caloric deficit…..and the only way we find ourselves NOT in a caloric deficit is when we are taking in more calories that we are burning.

(i.e. What and How Much are you eating?)

If you are willing to make an effort to try something different but are hesitant…I really want you to think about the hours you spend each week exercising. Is this all the effort getting you results or getting nowhere.

By switching to a more effective workout style, imagine how you could take the time that was spent “exercising” on things that do give you a positive return, ways to better spend your time to enhance your life.

How SMART are you? ... Your GOALS that is

HOW SMART ARE YOU?

Have you set GOALS that are 

SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC and TIMELY?

Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions:

*Who:      Who is involved?
*What:     What do I want to accomplish?
*Where:    Identify a location.
*When:     Establish a time frame.
*Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.
*Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

EXAMPLE:    A general goal would be, "Get in shape."

But a specific goal would say, "Attend Bootcamp 3 days a week for 3  months."

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as...How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

Realistic - To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Timely - A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? "Someday" won't work. But if you anchor it within a time frame, "by June 1st", then you've set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

T can also stand for Tangible - A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.

 

If you need HELP with creating your own GOALS contact your Cardio-Core Trainer - 

we are here to help you SUCCEED!

30 Minute Body Blast (without the gym)

Squat Press

1A) Dumbbell Squat Press – 12 reps
1B) Stability Ball Rollout – 10 reps

Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Ball Rollout

Dead Lift

2A) Dumbbell Romanian Dead Lift – 12 reps
2B) Stability Ball Jackknife – 12 reps

Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Jack Knife

Lunge with Bicep Curl

3A) Dumbbell Forward Lunge with Bicep curl – 8 reps per side
3B) Side Plank with DB Fly Raise – 10 reps per side

Rest 1 minute before repeating 2 more times for a total of 3 supersets.

Side Plank with Fly

Bodyweight Intervals

Burpees – 10 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Repeat 3 more times for a total of 4 rounds.

To take this workout to the gym substitute the Dumbbells with a Barbell Squat and Lunge for added resistance - the press and curl may be omitted.

Summer Beach Workout

Summer is always a great season when it comes to training; the lighter mornings and longer days make it an ideal time to get in a few extra workouts - and with the added pressure of looking good on the beach - that can only be a good thing.

However these extra workouts don’t have to be laborious jogs around the park every morning. Instead, try and spice up your workouts with some of these outdoor workout ideas.

 

 

 

Bodyweight Circuits

Go and find yourself a quiet spot in your garden/local park and test yourself with some bodyweight exercise circuits. Choose 5-8 exercises such as:

• Push Ups
• Burpees
• Ab Crunches
• Squats
• Lunges
• Squat Jumps
• Planks
• Squat Thrusts
• Step ups

Do 3-5 circuits using 15 reps on each exercise, start off with 90secs rest in between circuits and no rest in between exercises.

Each week try to increase the number of exercises or decrease the amount of resting time between circuits.

Sprints

Rather than just going for the same old jog in the morning, try doing sprint intervals. The high intensity of the sprints will allow for a better workout in much less time.

Find yourself a track or just a stretch of flat grass and sprint for 3-6 sets of 60-100m, depending on your fitness levels. Not only will the sprints be an excellent fat burning workout but also they’re great for toning the gluteus and legs.

Take the Weights Outside

Buy yourself a small barbell weight set or a couple of kettle bells and take your weight training workouts outside. Or for people on a budget, just get yourself some sandbags/old beer kegs/logs and do your usual strength training session with them.

Hill Running

Nothing gets the lungs and legs burning like a hill running session. Quite simply, find yourself a moderately steep hill and start running up it. If it's quite a short hill then use the sprint interval set up mentioned earlier and do 3-6 sets of runs with 40secs rest in between. The steepness of the hill will not only get your heart racing but also get your legs and gluteus burning too, not too mention loosening up any tightness in your hips.

Get Yourself Down to the Beach

The beach can be an excellent place to get a decent work out. By incorporating both the water and the sand you can get a varied and challenging conditioning session.

Using the interval training set up, try swimming for 50m then jogging for 200m and alternate the intensity from a hard swim – light jog, light swim – sprint, for 10-20mins depending on your fitness level.

For the group training session, playing Frisbee/ball games in the water will always get the heart racing and muscles working, plus, it will cause the body to exaggerate normal movements, increasing your mobility in commonly tight areas such as the hips and ankles.

Fat Burning Tips- An Interview with Chad Waterbury

Fat Burning Tips- An Interview with Chad Waterbury

CW: The first mistake is performing long duration cardio at a low intensity. Nothing wastes muscle tissue faster than jogging for an hour. When muscles are forced to continuously contract for 45 minutes or an hour, that energy has to come from somewhere. The body is very stubborn and doesn’t want to use fat for energy because it’s much easier to break down muscle tissue instead. This is why marathon runners are skinny and weak.

Second, when people try to lose fat they drop too many calories, too fast. Your anabolic hormones are fed by certain, key nutrients. When people go on a low-calorie diet they end up giving their muscles fewer nutrients for support and recovery. This quickly puts the body in a very catabolic state.
The third biggest mistake guys tend to make is choosing the wrong exercises and workouts to lose fat. Most people end up lifting light weights for a ton of reps. This is the exact opposite of what they should be doing because they’re not recruiting the muscle fibers they’re trying to keep: the biggest, strongest ones.

Think about it. When people try to burn fat they instinctively do the three worst things possible to maintain muscle. I’ve seen guys lose 10 pounds of muscle in a matter of weeks when they combine low-intensity cardio, high rep weight training, and a low calorie diet. This is a travesty.


JF: What are your top three fat burning tips? Actually, let’s start with three for training and then we’ll go into three for nutrition. 

CW: The first step is to make your cardio training short and intense. Tabata’s research taught us that high intensity cardio is the way to go because you’ll boost your anaerobic and aerobic power at the same time, and you’ll stimulate your metabolism to burn calories long after you leave the gym. Low-intensity cardio only burns calories while you’re doing it. High intensity cardio stimulates your metabolism to keep burning calories long after you stop.

Next, for every other workout it’s important to lift weights that are heavy enough to recruit your biggest, strongest muscle fibers. A 6-10 rep maximum is enough to get the job done when you accelerate the lift. There are two reasons why this is important. First, you’ll keep the muscle you have because you’re recruiting all of your muscle fibers. As I’ve mentioned in my books and articles, when you recruit the largest muscle fibers you’re also recruiting all of the other muscle fibers because of the size principle. As the saying goes: if you don’t use it, you lose it. Second, when heavy weights are performed in a full-body circuit with short rest periods, it drastically increases the metabolic cost of a workout. That’s essential for burning fat. But you can’t do much heavy training while cutting fat, so that’s why the next step is so important.

Third, you must perform cardio and cardio strength exercises at top speed. There are no typical cardio exercises in my world. Instead of jogging on a treadmill I have my clients perform a circuit of, say, split jacks, jumping jacks, and burpees for multiple rounds as fast as possible. Then I have them do exercise pairings that don’t require a lot of weight, but still recruit all your muscle fibers when performed at top speed. I call this “cardio strength” training. A good example is the kettlebell swing and push-up pairing. Start with 13 swings, then immediately drop to the floor and do 13 push-ups. Jump back to your feet and do 12 swings followed by 12 push-ups. Then do 11 swings and 11 push-ups. Continue with this sequence until you reach one rep of each exercise.

To read more, click here

Live longer and better with HIIT

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Digg Digg

Jack Lalanne at 71

According to this study, 6 weeks of HIIT (high intensity interval training), will make you live longer.
Previous research indicates that your SIRT1 proteins help keep you healthy & live longer by fixing errors in your DNA – cancer, UV light, free radicals, etc.

With that being the case, it’s a good thing to have lots of healthy, active SIRT1 running all over your body fixing any DNA errors.

Our current methods of increasing SIRT1 activity include calorie restriction and the supplement Resveratrol.

In this most recent study, researchers put some test subjects through a HIIT workout consisting of 40 min (10 x 4 min intervals @ 90% peak oxygen consumption) of bike sprints interspersed with 2 min rest periods.

They found that:

1. 4 days after training, there was a 28 to 36% increase in mitochondrial enzyme activity in your muscle.
2. Total muscle SIRT1 activity increased by 31%
3. Activity per SIRT1 protein increased by 58%, despite
4. the quantity of SIRT1 decreasing by 20%

And what does all of that mean?
The increased mitochondrial enzyme activity results in improved aerobic & anaerobic endurance and reverses muscle atrophy caused by inactivity or natural aging. That’s good.

The increased SIRT1 means that damaged DNA is repaired before it can accumulate and cause genetic problems.

Because, if we believe that the DNA damage theory of aging is correct, when we prevent the accumulation of damaged DNA, we prolong our good health and extend our life span.


Conclusion

• HIIT increases SIRT1 activity
• SIRT1 activity prevents genetic errors
• Genetic errors are responsible for aging
• Aging is responsible for death (duh)

• Therefore, HIIT will help you live longer & better

HIIT will make you stronger, faster and leaner.

HIIT will make you stronger, faster and leaner.

One of the ways it does that is by improving your lactate threshold (LT).

What is Lactate Threshold?

Lactate threshold is the level of exercise intensity where lactic acid builds up in your bloodstream and you begin to feel that lactic acid burn.

In the world of athletic science, LT is usually expressed as a percentage of VO2 max.


What is VO2 Max?
VO2 max is defined as “the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal or exhaustive exercise”
Essentially, it is a measurement of how much oxygen you can get into your muscles during exercise, and is widely accepted as the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power.


So how does LT & VO2 Max make me stronger, faster, leaner?

• If you can delay the build up of lactic acid in your blood, you can trainer longer, faster, harder.
• If you can train longer, faster, harder, you will become stronger, faster leaner.

And how do we delay the lactic acid burn, increase our LT and maximize our VO2 max?
Well, according to this study, high intensity interval training significantly increases LT and VO2 max.


The Study
Researchers took 20 physically active individuals and put them through one of two separate 6 week training programs.

1. Group 1 performed 1 interval training workout per week
2. Group 2 performed 2 interval training workouts per week

After 6 weeks,

1. Group 1 improved their LT by 4.3%
2. Group 2 improved their LT by 8.2%

Conclusion
Not only is interval training (HIIT) a successful strategy for improving LT and VO2 max, there is a dose-response relationship between frequency of interval training and the magnitude of LT improvement.
In other words,

• if you increase your HIIT, you increase your LT
• if you increase your LT, you increase your VO2 max
• if you increase your LT & VO2 max, you get stronger and faster & leaner….

And who wouldn’t want to get stronger, faster and leaner?

HIIT Tabata - Superset and Forget it

A1 Squats (lower body)
A2 Push Ups (upper body push)

B1 Lunges (lower body)
B2 Row (upper body pull)

C1 Wood Chop with Mediball or DB(full body – core)
C2 Plank (core)






Repetitions of each move range from 8-15 or 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Repeat each superset 4 times.


All you need is 10 -15 minutes!


Give it a try and you will be amazed at how much you get done in such a short period of time. Since the time you have this weekend is most likely limited, you now have no excuse.

Plus this is a great way to start your day – feel energized and less likely to make choices that may undue your efforts to get and stay fit! These short burst moves will have your body burning more fat and calories ALL Day LONG!

HIIT vs Interval Training

What’s the difference? Is there a difference?

That’s the basis of a conversation I had with a friend the other day…She said she had been doing 45 minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts…well, that was my first clue that she was a bit off in her definition of HIIT. You see she, like many I suspect, was thinking interval training and HIIT training were one in the same. They’re not. Yes, HIIT is interval training but not all interval training qualifies as HIIT. That is an important distinction, especially when it comes to attaining all the benefits of HIIT that you have no doubt read about (reduced training time, increased metabolism, faster fat loss, increased muscle mass, etc.)

Interval training is any type of workout where you vary the intensity for short periods of time. One of my favorite (running) interval workouts is 1 minute easy (a 3 on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being standing still and 10 being “running for your life”) followed by 2 minutes harder (a 7 on a scale of 1-10) and repeating that for 10 rounds for a 30 minute workout. Is that a hard workout? Absolutely. Is it a great workout? Definitely. But is it an HIIT workout? No.

True HIIT interval training is similar in the “rest” department…your rest is anywhere from a 1-3 on the 1-10 scale, but your interval is an all-out, run for your life 10 on that scale. That would the “high intensity” in the name. The reality is that the term really should stand for “highest intensity” interval training because that is what you need to realize the benefits of HIIT. And since HIIT is a “give it all you’ve got, cannot possibly go any harder” effort, there is no way you could sustain it for 45 minutes! Seriously, if you are giving it everything you have, you will flame out after 10-15 minutes… maybe 20 but that is arguable.

So often people get stuck in the “45-60 minute workout” mindset that came to us courtesy of the aerobically enhanced ’80s and ’90s, and to this day there are tons of people who, when they don’t have that 60 minute block of time, will just skip working out altogether because they “don’t have time for a good one.” Then there are those that sort of get the whole “HIIT takes less time” theory, but then they still try to go the 45 minutes or so…that’s great in that they may be doing a fantastic interval workout, but they’re not doing HIIT, so the benefits, while good, are not what they could be with a 10-15 minute true HIIT workout. But do keep in mind, that you can overdo it on the HIIT workouts…for most, 1-2 HIIT workouts a week is beneficial without risking injury.

One of the most well-known, and most popular HIIT workouts is the Tabata Protocol. Tabatas are 20 seconds all out followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 rounds (4 total minutes). Done correctly, you can barely stand after those 4 minutes! There are many other versions of HIIT, like the partner 30/30s: you go all out for 30 seconds while I rest, then I go all out for 30 while you rest, etc. Many minutes in a row of that and you’re toast, and that’s the point. It’s the “toasting” during the workout that requires all the extra energy for repair and replenishment after the workout (for 24-48 hours).