Music: Stevie Ray Vaughan.  T-shirt: Jimi Hendrix.

Cold outside today.

Cold inside too.

Guess we’re gonna have to warm up a bit!

First: Agility Ladder

Had to do something! It was cold!

Second: Toe Hops/Tabata Wall Run Combo

Toe Hops for 1 Minute

Wall Run – 20 Seconds On, 10 Seconds Off, Repeat 8 Times

Toe Hops for 1 Minute

Wall Run – 20 Seconds On, 10 Seconds Off, Repeat 8 Times

Toe Hops for 1 Minute

Wall Run – 20 Seconds On, 10 Seconds Off, Repeat 8 Times

Toe Hops for 1 Minute

Third: Wall Run/Burpee Combo

Wall Run – 20 Seconds

Burpees – 10 Reps

Repeat 5 Times

Fourth: Core/Abs

Sit Up Hold 2 Min

Leg Raise Hold 2 Min

Seated Leg Raise Hold 2 Min

Bridge Hold 2 Min

Fifth: Optional Stretching

Just going through about 15 minutes of general stretching.

Video:

When I have trouble getting off the toilet from a leg workout I did 1-2 days prior, I know that a sprint session is not in my best interest.

On the other hand, I don’t have an hour to spend on cardio every single day, and knowing that it’s just not necessarily as effective as a high intensity session gets me all jacked up to do my interval training tomorrow morning!

BUSTED: High intensity training elicits an “afterburn” effect that can last up to 48 hours after your workout. That means more overall calories and fat burned while you’re doing nothing!  With interval training, your metabolism is revved up for a longer period of time, and because it’s so intense, you CAN’T do it for an hour!

Using short maximal efforts followed by short rest periods can create significant cardiovascular fitness.

There are many types of interval protocols you can use. One of the more popular has become the Tabata workout: work to rest ratios look like 20-60:10-30 seconds. The rest period is half the time of the work period. That means that fatigue will accumulate quickly, setting you up for some serious aerobic metabolism advantages. This type of workout is not for the faint of heart! (Pun intended). Essentially it’s a bigger….and longer….bang for your buck.

Next time you’re crunched for time, or even better, at your next scheduled cardio session, try intervals!  Let me know how your workout goes!

Now call me mad call me insane or call me Mr brave but I keep looking at my training plan and it bores me silly, I don’t like the must do aspect on certain days, nine times out of ten i will just go out and decide after a mile or so depending on how I feel as to what ill do, so as long as I do my hill runs, intervals and build the long runs up to 20 miles a few months before race day I don’t see a problem.

This week being wet and windy I have had several days on the treadmill and have only been out three times and one of them being a 5k parkrun

Monday  – treadmill easy 5m

Tuesday -  treadmill faster 6m

Wednesday Nice dry day so outside for an easy 9.5m

Thursday – turbo intervals for 45minutes + some tabatas ( see below)

friday – Treadmill steady 7m

Saturday -5k parkrun time of 20:43

Sunday – long run 15m at 7.3mph

Total 45miles

Now I know your busting to know what Tabatas are!! I found them a long time ago when I was first looking at ways to get my 5k time down,they arent for the faint hearted so cutting a long story short you work as hard as you can for 20 seconds stop for 10 seconds and go again for 20 seconds, You should do that 7-8 times, and when I say work hard I mean gut busting hard,So for example if you wanted to run them its 20 seconds full-out as hard as you can,Sprint no jogging then rest for ten seconds then go again x 7, they will kill you, you may be sick you may only get to four or five, but its fun! done take my word for it hit the tabata link above or google tabata method.

Next week I will be resting for a few days as Stubbington 10k on sunday although I think it may be a bit tough to grab a pb what with the Xmas weight I put on and not wanting to injure myself, we will see on the day tho!

Music: Nickelback.  T-shirt: Funkengruven, Grand Funk Railroad.

Time to continue the exercise groove.

Chilly inside and out.

But it warms up quickly!

First: Agility Ladder

We haven’t done these in a while.

And this ladder is longer than the one we were using before!

Second: Tabata Wall Run

Simple little exercise that can be done anywhere.

And guaranteed to raise the heart rate!

20 Second worth of running, 10 seconds off.

Repeat 8 times!

Third:  9 Station Circuit

Max Reps, 30 Sec Each Station, 3 Cycles

Ball Overhead Squat

Jump Rope

Plate Front Raise

Step Run

Wall Sit

Windshield Wipers

Kettlebell Swings

DB Incline Press

Ab Pullins on Slideboard

Fourth: Wall Sit

1 Minute Sit

1 Minute Sit, Arm Overhead

Fifth: Core/Abs

Tabata Crunches

Top 1/3 Leg Raises 50

Middle 1/3 Leg Raises 50

Bottom 1/3 Leg Raises 50

Floor to Top Leg Raises 50

Video:

Music:.The Radio.  T-shirt:.Train Hard Play Harder.

Another small turn out after Christmas.

People must be going to the after Christmas sales.

Simple, all abs and core today.

The Beginning: All Tabata Stuff

You remember what that means!

20 seconds on, 10 off, 8 cycles per exercise.

Tabata Crunches

Tabata Leg Raises

Tabata Leg Spreaders

Tabata Seated Leg Raises

Tabata Lemon Squeezers

Next: Side Plank

1 rep every 5 seconds for a minute on each side.

Third: Push Up Position

Just get in a push up position.

Hold it…

For 3 minutes.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Back to the Beginning:

Tabata Mountain Climbers

Video:

On the first day of fitness, my workout gave to me…a big rush of endorphins.

On the second day of fitness, my workout gave to me…two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the third day of fitness, my workout gave to me…three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the fourth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the fifth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the sixth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the seventh day of fitness, my workout gave to me…seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the eighth day of fitness, my workout gave to me….eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the ninth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the tenth day of fitness, my workout gave to me….ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the eleventh day of fitness, my workout gave to me…eleven eccentric muscle actions, ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

On the twelfth day of fitness, my workout gave to me…twelve reps of lunges, eleven eccentric muscle actions, ten minutes rowing, nine neuromuscular benefits, eight endurance boosts, seven stability exercises, six static stretches, five fitness apps! Four minutes of tabatas, three sets of squats, two tighter thighs and a big rush of endorphins.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, and remember, don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holiday season put the brakes on your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!

My quads feel like their bruised, resting my elbows on them is not a good thing for me to do at the moment.   Ah well, teach me for getting lazy.

Core workout today looked something like this.

Leg Lifts (done on floor)

Swimmers

Plank

Wrestlers Bridge

This is starting to included neck and spinal strengthening as well, I like my 3 day planned rotation and don’t want to adjust it if I don’t need too, especially since the second round of three days is intentionally lighter.    And in case your wondering, even God rested on day 7

Haven’t quite got to a minute on the wrestlers bridge, and a minute and a half on the plank.    Serious room for improvement but I’m not worried, it’ll come in time.    The wrestlers bridge is currently performed on flat feet, will be building up to being on my toes.

I’m going to be adding to this over the next week or two, in fact my next core workout this week will be practising some of the moves I want to incorporate into this routine.    Things like a front bridge will be added for example.

I also ordered a doorway pull up bar and an ab wheel today, both of which will allow me more options for targeting my core in a workout.

The irony of this is that I have already worked my core for two straight days. The co-contractions on the push ups and underhand rows certainly work it, as does pretty much the whole leg routine although sometimes I need to concentrate more to make sure I’m applying it then.    Tensing your abdominals during the leg session can help maintain better form, and as I’ve said before it helps to teach your body to work as an integrated unit.

As I get better at these I may change my mind about not doing extra days.    A 5 day workout revolving around a day each of upper body, core, legs, tabatas and stappers may help boost my results, and allow me a solid two straight days of rest and recovery for my body.

Stappers are great, I love these. Pick 3 or 4 exercises, say press ups, squats and vertical rows.    Set a number of reps for each exercise, e.g. 12 press ups, 10 squats and 8 vertical rows.    Start with the press ups, then go straight to the squats and then straight to the vertical rows.    Do this for about 20 minutes. See how many sets (1 full set of each exercise) you can do in a given time frame. 20 minutes is a good guide to use. And absolutely no rest between exercises, that’s cheating.    Yourself mainly.

Tabatas, these I am not so fond of; but they work.    Each exercise is done for 4 minutes.    20 seconds worth of reps, 10 seconds worth of rest.    Keep following that cycle for 4 minutes.    The idea is to go fast during the 20 seconds of work. You have to pick a pace that you can maintain for the whole 4 minutes. It sounded easy enough the first time I tried.    Have a crack at it yourself so you can see what I thought after doing them.

Of course I still need to add a small element of cardio to this whole thing.    I’m not a fan of cardio in general, but a little bit of it will help me to build up my lung power better.    And since I hope to be able to get back into some martial arts or combatives training the general conditioning that it will help bring is going to be useful.    Just need to do some more practice on the jump rope.

Oh fyi, I got accepted onto my course.    We’re all gonna be learning a lot more soon enough.

It’s Thanksgiving Eve and I want to impart a thought and a tool to you. It’s possible that in the next day you will consume 3000-4000+ calories–as much as double what you take in on a normal day. And more than 225 grams of fat.

I love love love Thanksgiving. It’s good, deep down. So I’m not, at all, suggesting that you not eat and thoroughly enjoy.

As I have studied physiology, I’ve gotten a new view into energy balance–what we consume in calories and how we use it (or don’t) for fuel. That glorious incoming tide of energy deserves to be met with an equally glorious gust of activity, so I offer you this: when you foresee a big bunch of food coming your way, spend even just 20 minutes putting your big muscles into a vigorous state.

This morning at Unstill Life Boot Camp, we did Tabatas, a pattern that involves doing a full-bodied exercise all out for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest, repeated eight times (4 minutes total). We did 4-minute cycles of burpees, speed-skaters, push-ups and dynamic lunges. Even four sets of 4-minute Tabatas (right, that’s 16 minutes total) will shift your metabolism to burn hotter for several hours. You have to go really hard, but since it’s just for 20 seconds- psych yourself up and go for it. Keep count of how many (push-ups or whatever) you do in your first 20 seconds and try to hold that number for the next seven rounds.

I suggested to the class today that they can do Tabatas on their own, and I was met with eye-rolling. “Rachel! If we could do this on our own, we wouldn’t need to come to class.” This may be true for you, but I want you to have Tabatas in your tool box. You may know in your heart that you’re not going to use it. You might just prefer to go for a walk or a slow and even run. It may not have the same “burn” value, but I can’t knock it.

Calories and heart rate aside, I hope you do something on this day to celebrate your living, breathing, sensing, incredibly nuanced body. It is a remarkable creation.

A little bit inspired by the circuit class last night… I thought I’d try and mix my circuits up a bit – and make them even more challenging!

I was doing a warm up of 7 exercises repeated 3 times, then 3 circuits of 4 different exercises (each circuit repeated 3 times).

I’m not going to say it’s getting easy, but it definately is getting easier… so it’s time to mix it up a bit.  More work, less rest I think.

I’ll keep a simliar warm up, then instead of 3 circuits of 4 exercises, I’m going to try 2 circuits of 8 exercises!  Real hard work tabatas. (16 exercises instead of 12).

Here is the 3 circuits of 4 exercises version:

And here is the new 2 circuits of 8 exercises:

I use the Tabata HIIT app to do the timings.

And here is an Excel version of the two versions of the circuits (including how to set up the timings on the app).

I’ll try one of the 2 x 8 circuits next Wednesday and let you know how I get on!

Music: Better Than Ezra. T- Shirt: I wonder what it means?

Back to the plates!

The plates, you say?

Yes, the plates. Back to an all plate workout.

Well almost. We did stick some Tabata style stuff and even some old school ab/core “entertainment”.

Why not grab a plate and join in the fun?

It won’t kill you…

First: 21 Plate Exercises

2 cycles: 12 reps then 6 reps

1. Plate Squats
2. Plate Presses
3. Plate Good Mornings
4. Plate Overhead Squats
5. Plate Front Raises
6. Plate Pushes
7. Plate Long Lunges
8. Plate Curls
9. Plate Woodchoppers
10. Plate Halos
11. Plate Woodchoppers From Floor
12. Plate Windshield Wipers
13. Plate Triceps Extensions
14. Plate Floor Presses
15. Plate Overhead Seated Leg Raises
16. Plate Twists Seated Feet Up
17. Plate Stiff Leg Deadlifts
18. Plate Pullthroughs From Ankles
19. Plate Overhead Sidebends
20. Plate Sidebends
21. Plate Grip Circles

Second: “Tabata Style” Wall Sprints

For 20 seconds run as fast as you can leaning forward against a wall.

Take a 10 second break.

Then repeat the process 8 times.

You won’t want to do it again any time soon.

Third: Abbie Cores

Crunches 50

Leg Raises 50

Side Crunches 25 Each Side

Up the Middle Crunch 25

Video:

103^rd workout of the year, 10/17/2011.

Music: Gin Blossoms. T- Shirt: Life is Good.

Had enough of the circuits for the time being.

Thinking about doing something to really tire out the body.

I know!

Tabatas!

For the whole workout!

We’ve done an all “Tabata Style” workout a few times in the past. Never completely the same exercises.

So to those new to “Tabatas” I quote none other than myself (again):

“Izumi Tabata is a researcher in Japan. You can connect with him on Facebook (but it probably isn’t really him).

Dr. Izumi Tabata,,of The National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, developed a protocol to increase both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. “Tabata” workouts are brief, but extremely intense.

When I say we are doing “Tabatas”, I am extrapolating from the research of Dr. Tabata.

Meaning we take an exercise and bust your rear for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second break. The process is repeated 8 times. A less than 4 minute process. Painful but it pays off!”

Today’s Tabata Treats:

Chair Squats

Chair Triceps Dips

Bottoms Up Squats

Plate Upright Rows

Crunches

Plate Curls

Prone Alternate Arm/Leg Raises

Ground Up Push Ups

Plate Overhead Presses

Leg Raises

Video:

Music: Green Day. T- Shirt: Train Hard Play Hard.

Had enough of the Circuit Training the past couple of workouts.

So time for some more conditioning stuff.

You like weights? We got weights!

You like cardio? We got cardio!

You like core/abs? We got core/abs!

You like jumping? We got jumping!

First: Tabata Style Jumps

I guess you could call these broad jumps. Doesn’t matter if you call them “Fred”, these were much more difficult than they appeared on paper.

The exercise? Just jumping forward.

The catch? You gotta do it for 20 seconds, then you get a 10 second break. Then you repeat the process for a total of 8 cycles. Takes just under 4 minutes…but you’ll feel like you’ve been running for miles!

Second: Dumbbell Ladders

We got 13 sets of Dumbbell out…5 pounders to 65 pounders.

We did 5 reps on every dumbbell for every exercise.

If someone couldn’t make it up to the 65’s they just stayed at the heaviest they could handle for the remaining sets.

The exercises?

Dumbbell Push Press

Dumbbell Squats

Third: “Clock Push Ups”

1. One push up at 9:00, 12:00, 3:00. Repeat 5 times
2. Hand walks from 9:00 to 3:00. Repeat 5 times

Fourth: Rotation Push Up with a kick

Yep…that’s it. You do a push up. You rotate your body then kick up with one leg. Then repeat the process , kicking with the other leg.

We did it for 25 Yards.

Fifth: Core/Abs with medicine balls

Sit up/Side to Side 5 Reps each ball

Sit Up, Ball to Feet 5 Reps each ball

Sixth: Optional Stretching

Video:

Music: Hits of 1974. T- Shirt: Popeye.

A bit sore from the last one.

Understandable since we took some time off.

Decided to keep hanging with mostly body weight exercises and conditioning for this one.

Effective…very.

One: Agility Ladder Drills

Mainly to get the body moving. Heck one of these days I may have to come up with an all agility ladder drill day…

Two: Hurdle/Sprints

Short hurdle jumps followed immediately by a 25 yard sprint.

4 versions of the hurdles x 3 sets each.

Three: Push Up Variations

10 types of Push Ups, 10 Reps Each

Wide Hands

Clapping

Close Hands

Fists Under Chest

Offset Hands

Regular Hand Placement

Cobras

Rotations

Alternate Foot to Hand

Walk Outs

Four: Chair Jump Squats w/Medicine Balls

11 Balls and Chairs

5 Reps Each

These will your heart pumping!

Five: Tabata Style Toe Taps

These are exhausting!

Six: Core/Abs

Sit Ups 25

Lemon Squeezers 25

Sit Ups/Lemon Squeezers Combo 25

Hip Ups 25

Reverse Crunches 25

Hip Ups/Reverse Crunches Combo 25

Side Hip Ups 25 Each Side

Leg Raises Top 1/3

Leg Raises Bottom 1/3

Leg Raises Middle 1/3

Leg Raises Full

Finally: Stretching…optional

Video:

Music: Bowling For Soup. T-Shirt: Bowling For Soup.

Mega sore from the last workout…the quads anyway.

So we’ll hit some other stuff in hopes of working some of the soreness out!

First: Push Up/Squat Circuit

A bunch of different kinds of push ups with squats in between…the quads hated this.

1. Push Ups 10
2. Squats 25
3. Wide Push Ups 10
4. Squats 25
5. Hands by Waist Push Ups 10
6. Squats 25
7. Diamond Push Ups 10
8. Squats 25
9. Fists Under Chest Push Ups 10
10. Squats 25
11. Cobra Push Ups 10
12. Squats 25
13. Rotation Push Ups 10
14. Squats 25
15. Alternate Foot to Hand Push Ups 10
16. Squats 25
17. Eccentric Push Ups
18. Squats 25
19. Walkout Push Ups 10
20. Squats 25

Second: Monster Walks

Yep the Monster Walks…for 50 Yards. This will light up the butt and quads…like they needed it.

Third: Quick Tabata Style Monster Hops

Meaning go as fast as you can for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds then repeat for four minutes.

Hits the butt, quad and lungs!

Fourth:

Clam shells 3 x 15 Both Sides

Fifth:

Jump Out/Jump Up with gold T-band

50 Yards

Sixth:Wall Run Tabata style!

Hands on the wall and run in place. You go as fast as you can for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off.

We do this for 8 sets. Takes less than 4 minutes.

Seventh: More wall stuff.

Wall Run 15 Seconds

10 Jumps

We did this for 4 minutes.

Eighth: Core/Abs stuff.

Crunches 100

Leg Raises 100

Ninth: Stretching

Not that I’ve lost a ton of flexibility…but I want what has slipped away back!

I just felt like adding it in and will be doing it more often.

No descriptions…check out the video!

Video: 

Music: Wolfmother, Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. T-Shirt: Train Hard, Play Hard.

We did this yesterday.

I could barely walk last night. Today is worse.

Today I shuffle.

Tomorrow? Well I think we all know how tomorrow will be…

Guess what? Don’t care. Will probably do it again!

Some of the leg stuff was body weight only…so yes you too can participate in the fun (pain)!

Warm Up? No. Think we’ll skip it.

Start: Dumbbell Ladders

We took every dumbbell we had and put them on the track. Added up to 13 sets of dumbbells.

We did 5 reps of each weight starting at 5 pound dumbbells and going up in increments of 5 pounds to 65.

If someone couldn’t work up to the 65s they stayed at the heaviest weight they could handle for a set total of 13.

We did this for Overhead Push Presses and DB Squats.

Second: Leg Stuff

Short Lunges 50 Reps Each Leg

“Prisoner” Squats 50 Reps

Next: More Leg Stuff

Tabata Style Chair Squats

Fast squats for 20 seconds and 10 second rest

Repeat 8 times

Fourth: More Squats 25 Rep Each

Rock Bottom Squats

1/4 Squats

Parallel Squats

Full Squats

Bottoms Up Squats

Fifth: Isometric Holds

Short Lunge 30 Sec Each Leg

Long Lunge 30 Sec Each Leg

Rock Bottom 30 Sec

1/4 Squat Hold 30 Sec

Parallel Squat Hold 30 Sec

Sixth: Finally…No leg stuff!

Shoulder Burns. 25 Movements. 30 sec each movement. Max Reps.

1. Military Press
2. Small circles forward
3. Small circles backward
4. Pinches up
5. Shoulder Abduction Top 1/3
6. Pinches down
7. Arm Circles In Front Medial
8. Arm Circles In Front External
9. Shoulder AbductionBottom 1/3
10. Wrist curls up
11. Shoulder Abduction Middle
12. Wrist curls down
13. Shoulder Abduction
14. Wrist curls sideways
15. External/Internal rotation
16. Bent elbows front
17. Bent elbows overhead
18. Straight arm front palms down Swinging sideways
19. Straight arm front palms up Swinging sideways
20. Straight arm front palms down up and down
21. Straight arm front palms up – up and down
22. Push aways
23. Shoulder “Ys”
24. Shoulder “Ts”
25. Clap overhead

Followed by 25 regular push ups then 25 ground up push ups.

I got lazy on the video. I didn’t cut each move. I just speeded some portions up.

Lastly: Stretching

Not that I’ve lost a ton of flexibility…but I want what has slipped away to return!

I just felt like adding it in and will be doing it more often.

No descriptions…check out the video!

Video:

Music: Hits from 1972.

T-Shirt: Exercise, Eat Right, Die Anyway. I got mine a while back. May not be able to find one “just like it”.

Time for a variety of conditioning training.

Guaranteed to burn some calories and create some sweat.

There is no way around it. This was a burner!

First: Agility Ladders

Just a few drills to get the blood flowing. There are so many different types of drills out there you could spend all day doing this stuff.

But not today. Nope there is more stuff to do!

Second: Cone Runs or Cone Drills

Whatever you want to call them.

The cones are set up down the track diagonally so we can run towards them and quickly change directions.

Forward Run 2 x 25 Yards

Lateral Run 2 x 25 Yards

Forward/Backpedal 2 x 25 Yards

High Knees 2 x 25 Yards

Third: Hurdle Hops and Run

The hurdles were set up in a pattern to make us hop forward and laterally. We followed this with an immediate run of 25 yards.

3 to the Left

3 to the Right

3 Lateral Left

3 Lateral Right

Just check out the video.

Fourth: Tabata Style Stuff

This is killer. 20 seconds on for max reps followed by a 10 second “rest” period and repeating the process for 4 minutes.

1. Mountain Climbers
2. Push Ups
3. Crunches
4. Seated Leg Raises

That’s it!

Video:

Strength:
Weighted Push Ups
5(10#) x 5(15#) x 3(25#) x 3(35#) x 3(45#)

WOD:
4 Rounds
20 OH Squats (45#)
400 Meter Run (modified to 20 Cal Row)
Finished in 17:03

Today’s workout was tough, but good. OH squats are not my best squat but they went alright today. I still get quite wobbly after a bit. I need to figure out what I’m doing wrong there. Instead of running I was able to do the rowing machine. That worked great for me. I wasn’t so zapped from not being able to breathe after the run. The rowing was more difficult than I thought it would be though! I didn’t want to workout today, but I’m glad I went.

Cool Down:
Abmat Sit Up Tabatas (9)

Good day all around! Answer to the question above: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

I’m sorry to have disappeared for a week. Last week I spent in a beach house overlooking Holden Beach, NC. It was a much needed break. I did do a couple of benchmark WODs while I was there.

Monday 7/25
200 Squats
Finished in 5:50

Yeah….I was sore for 3 days afterword. While I didn’t have a medicine ball to squat to, I think I did pretty good. I wanted a workout I could do in my room so I didn’t have my family staring at me!

Tuesday 7/26
Mike’s Birthday!!
100 Sit Ups
Finished in 6:59

This one went pretty good. It would have been nice to have an abmat to get more extension. I did these in the living room beside the couch. Every time I sat up I could see my nephews playing on the couch. They didn’t notice me at first but once they did they started making faces every time I popped back up. It was a little distracting but funny. We had also just eaten pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. It’s definitely not a good idea to do that many sit ups after eating. Unfortunately, I got rug burn on my tush from doing so many. That was a little painful for a few days as well. So, not only was I walking funny from the squats but sitting was a little painful at times!

I took the rest of the week off. The gym was going to be closed on Thursday anyway, so I wouldn’t have done the workout if I had been home! lol. I spent the rest of the week reading and relaxing. My brother, sis-in-law, nephews and I all went to play putt-putt on Monday. Then Mom, Dad and I went to Southport and walked around for an hour or so on Tuesday. Other than that we didn’t leave the house.

I got home late Sunday night. That was my last “bad” meal. I ate like a pig all week long. Ok, maybe not a pig as they may have shown more restraint! Monday started me back to making healthier choices. Mike is doing this with me this time, so that will help. Plus, it makes me happy to see him wanting to eat healthier. He’s not out of shape, in fact he runs 4+ miles every day except Sat and Sun, but he eats a bunch of processed crap. Glad to see him working on that. He had a bit of a weekend with his Father (who has had a stroke and has dementia and expressive aphasia as a result) and Mother, so I think that’s what spurred this.

Monday 8/1
Weigh In: 206#
Ok…confession time. I was 204# before going on vacation, so while I’m glad I only gained 2# while on vacation I am not pleased that I am 10# up from my lowest weigh in so far. Today’s eating went very well. I didn’t have any artificial sweetners either, so I’m going to try to keep them out of my diet. Afterall, they cause a spike in insulin as well, which causes weight gain (or at least causes you to hold on to the weight).

Strength:
OH Squats 3 (45#)x 3(65#) x 3(75#) x 3(didn’t get to it)
I was partnered up with Tiffany for this exercise and I have to say I was a little frustrated with the outcome. We started with the bar and went up from there. I was only able to get 3 rounds in because Tiffany was struggling to get the bar overhead for her 3rd round. Everyone else was putting their weights up by the time she gave up. She could do it, she just psyched herself out. She kept trying to press the bar up…yeah, that isn’t going to work! Although, I think she could have done it (had 65# originally then dropped her down to 60#) she improved over her last attempt (45#). This time she ended up getting to 55#. I only got up to 75#, which was where I was last time. I’m pretty sure I could have done 80-85# this time. Oh well…next time!

WOD:
Grace
30 Clean & Jerks (70#)
Finished in 7:21

While I went up 15# from my last Grace experience, my time also went up by a couple of minutes. I’m not too upset with that though. Today, I can really feel my back muscles. They aren’t sore…but I can tell they were worked out. That’s what happens when you haven’t touched a weight in over a week I guess! It was very tempting not to workout today, but I made myself go and I’m glad I did. We did these crossovers after the workout. Basically, there is a 25# weight on the floor, you get into push up formation on the right side of the plate and when the timer starts you walk your hands over the plate to the other side and back. We did those in Tabatas. I didn’t do that well (lowest number was 4). My wrist started bothering me a bit. It was probably because of poor form. I had a hard time keeping my butt down!

Our trainer and his girlfriend went to the CrossFit Games in LA this past weekend. He took that opportunity to propose and it was caught on film! So happy for the two of them!

Well defined abs... not mine I'd like to add!

My friend Gill has tasked me with coming up with an ‘abs’ circuit so that she can ‘lose her belly’ (not that she has one. but anyway…) 

I imagine she is expecting a circuit filled with crunches and sit ups and leg raises… but that’s not what I’m all about. 

I know that to lose fat from your tummy, you need to work not just your tummy, but you need to burn calories to lose fat from all over your body.  Unfortunately you can’t work just one part of your body (ie bingo wings or a fat tummy) to tone it up – you need to work many parts and burn calories to lose fat (melt the fat away through hard work).  You also have to have a good diet, perhaps 40% carbs, 40% protien, 20% fat.

I’ve read that doing 250,000 crunches will burn 1lb of fat (but you’ll probably die of bordom and not work much else).  And the best way to shed fat and ‘work your abs’ is to work your whole core and your whole body and use compound exercises to burn calories and fat (and to do cardio to burn calories).

High Intensity Interval Training will help burn fat and if you include full body and core exercises which will work your abs, you’ll benefit more than just ‘doing crunches’.

I’ve also read that it’s a good idea to do most of your ab work standing up as when you lie down you aren’t using as many muscles to do the work.  Sure do some abs exercises on the floor, but do the majority standing up if possible, and engage your core.

LORN’S INTENSE INTERVAL CIRCUITS

Here is a 40-45 minute workout including a warm up set where you do the circuit 3 times, increasing speed each time you do it so that by the 3rd set you are working really hard.

Then there’s a main set of 3 sets of 4 circuits.  You do each set 3 times, one after the other, building speed on each set.

Then there’s a final push at the end 5 repeats of 2 exercises.

I’ll be using my Tabata HIIT app to do the timings.

WARM UP – 30 secs each, 6 secs rest; 3 repeats of each set.

JOG
POWER JACKS
LOG JUMPS
123
BUTT KICKS
HIGH KNEES
VERTICAL JUMPS

MAIN SET – 30 secs each, 6 secs rest; 3 repeats of each

CIRCUIT 1
POWER JUMPS
BELT KICKS
HIT THE FLOOR
SKI DRILLS

CIRCUIT 2
HURDLE JUMPS
GLOBE JUMPS
MOVING PUSH UPS
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

CIRCUIT 3
LEVEL 1 DRILLS (4 PUSH UPS, 4 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS, JUMP UP)
ALTERNATING KNEE LIFTS (ABS)
SPRINTS WITH LUNGES
TRICEP V PUSH UPS

SECOND SET – repeated 5 times

8 HOP SQUATS
8 PUSH UPS

If one of the main circuits above needs replacing, or you have equipment (gym ball, dumbbelss) you can do the following circuit instead of circuit 3:

OTHER CIRCUIT (equipment needed)
GYM BALL JACK KNIFE (gym ball)
DIAGONAL LIFT (dumbbell)
PLANK WALK UP (mat)
PUNCH UPS (dumbells)

ANOTHER CIRCUIT
SUICIDE DRILLS (123, touch floor)
LEVEL 1 DRILLS
ALTERNATING KNEE LIFTS
TRICEP V PUSHUPS

That’s it… by the end of that you should be sweating a lot and have worked very hard.  I’m doing it this week with Gill, so I’ll let you know how I get on.

I got there just in time and hopped on the treadmill for an 11 mnute run.  I started at 7mph and increased it to 8 with a minute to go.  Easy.

Run: 1.3M, 11 minutes, Pace: 8:30 approx, Calories: 130.
Ave HR: 133 (70%), Max HR: 160 (84%).

HR graph for run on treadmill

After that we went into the big workout room and did 30 minutes worth of circuits.  I based it on last weeks circuits and changed a few exercises to new ones.

10 exercises, 4 repeats of each, 30:15 work:rest ratio.

JUMPING JACKS
SIDE TO SIDE FLOOR TOUCHES
SPRINTS
MUMMY KICKS
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
BASKETBALL JUMPS
GLOBE JUMPS
LOW PLANK OBLIQUES
BUTT KICKS
PLANK WALK UPS

You can see how each exercise affected my heart rate.

By the 4th or 5th exercise I was sweating like anything again… hard work!! 

I managed to do 4 sets out mountain climbers without resting which was good, I was pleased with that.

We both worked hard and felt good at the end of it.

Circuits: Ave HR: 140 (73%), Max HR: 157 (82%), Calories: 300.

Just did this to blow the cob webs out from a rough holiday weekend!
Great overall workout that will leave the gas tank on “E”
Choose exercises that are appropriate for your fitness level!

20 seconds of work, 10 seconds rest for all exercises. Perform each group of 3 twice before moving on to next group of 3 and follow that format for all 5 groups.

1) jump rope
2) explosion push-ups
3) prisoner drop squats
repeat twice

1) Burpee with push-up
2) sumo squat with overhead band press
3) double crunch
Repeat twice

1) mountain climbers “x”
2) reverse lunge right leg
3) reverse lunge left leg
Repeat twice

1) jump rope
2) squat hold band rows
3) squat hold chest press and fly
Repeat twice

1) box or step/deck jumps (careful feeling fatigued at this point)
2) jump rope
3) diamond push-ups
Repeat twice

TOTAL 15 minute workout
In order to keep intensity/tempo check out gymboss.com
Best $20 fitness investment you can make!

Any health and fitness enthusiasts check out my website:

http://www.jgpfitnesstraining.com

http://www.jpearotakesjuiceplus.com

WOD:
3 Rounds
15 Burpees (buckin’ furpees)
30 Toes to Bar (became knees to elbows!)
Finished in 11:01

Completed 2 pull ups on the green band!

Monday’s WOD:
Strength:
Push Press
5(45#) x 5(65#) x 5(75#) x 5(75#)

Tabatas:
Overhead Squats (45#) 6
Back Extensions 8
Hang Clean (45#) 5

Tuesday’s WOD:
Fran
21, 15, 9 repetitions:
* 95/65 lb thrusters (first 26 @ 65#, last 19 @ 45#)
* Pull-ups (Black Band)
Finished in 13:13
 

I think from now on I will just update my week’s workouts on Friday and add some new posts here. I’m sure it’s getting rather boring reading nothing but my workouts!

Improvements/CrossFit Firsts:
I did 2 Kipping Pull Ups on the green band! I’d like to work on them more to get away from the black band!

Today’s workout was tough. I got to the point were I couldn’t breathe. This made me start getting sloppy to where I hit myself in the chin with the bar, so I dropped the weight down to just the bar. I probably should have put it at 55# instead of 45# but at the moment I was just thinking of getting the weight off so I could finish. I hate that I dropped down, I always hate doing that, but it was the right choice.

The last time I did Fran was 12/7/2010. I used the 35# bar and ring rows instead of pull ups. Finished in 8:03. So….kind of a lateral move I would say.

I can’t believe we’ve been having 100+ degree days already this summer. It’s hot!

How do you keep cool during the summer workouts?

Image by sanchom via Flickr

You may be asking yourself, “What is Tabatas and how can it help me lose weight”?  Tabatas is a protocol that was first implemented by Izumi Tabata at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo Japan.  Dr. Tabata performed intense, short bursts of exercise on a group of physically fit athletes for 6 weeks.  He noted at the end of the study, a 28%  increase in anaerobic capacity and a 14% increase in VO2 max.

The way a Tabata style workout is set up is as follows.  Perform an exercise with all out intensity for 20 seconds.  At the end of the 20 seconds you immediately rest for 10 seconds and then do the same exercise for 20 seconds.  Follow this same protocol 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  If you are new to exercise and you are interested in trying Tabatas, I strongly recommend you begin slowly.  Choose an exercise such as sprints on a treadmill or stationary cycle.  Monitor your heart rate during exercise and immediately following as well. The best way to do this is to wear a heart rate monitor.  Watch to see how long it takes for your heart rate to recover after the exercise session is complete.  A good sign that you are ready to increase the difficulty is how fast your heart rate recovers.

Here is a typical Tabatas style workout that I give to my clients.

Begin with a 10 minute warm up on a treadmill, elliptical or rowing machine followed by dynamic stretching to loosen up.

• Rapid steps
• Mountain climbers
• Med ball slams
• Weighted toe touches

Cooldown and stretching for 10 minutes.

Perform each exercise 8 times for a total of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest.  When you have completed one exercise take 30 seconds to a minute rest and then go ahead to the next exercise until all 4 have been completed.  The total time for this workout is approx. 16 minutes, not including warm up and cooldown.  To keep up its effectiveness, please make sure you get adequate rest between workouts.  I suggest doing this style of workout no more than 3 times a week with a day’s rest in between.  Your body will thank you for it.

One of the benefits of Tabatas style workouts  is its effect on fat loss.  This style of workout raises the body’s metabolic rate even after the session is complete creating an after burn effect.  Recent studies have shown that the after burn effect of interval training is far more effective at fat loss than low intensity steady state cardio.  So you are able to leave the gym knowing you will continue to burn fat even after your workout is complete.

Tabatas. The longest 20 seconds and the shortest 10 seconds of your life.

Don’t lie to me, you have 4 minutes in your day where you can fit in a workout. The other day I had 10 minutes to get a workout in, so I did 2 rounds of Tabatas.

 What are Tabatas? It is an exercise protocol where you go as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and you repeat that sequence for 4 minutes total.You have to use an exercise that is hard.

 No single joint exercises like bicep curls or triceps kickbacks. It has to be something that wears you out you like sprinting, burpees, watching political ads, etc… I chose pushups and jump squats for my workout. 10 minutes (4 minutes of pushups, rest 90 seconds, then 4 minutes of jump squats) total and I got a great workout in. Here is a video where I demonstrate Tabata pushups.

 

The GymBoss (http://www.gymboss.com/ or search for the app on your fancy smart phone) that I mention is really helpful for Tabatas and any kind of circuit training you do. Keeps you on track and keeps you from getting distracted looking at your watch wondering when you can stop the madness.

You can pretty much Tabata anything…and I mean a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. Tabatas are as solid as interval training gets. A few of our athletes rediscovered where their “cliffs” were yesterday and that’s a good thing. We should be scoping out and learning where that new cliff is in the workouts. When you think you can’t do one more rep, do one more rep. That burning sensation you feel is just an electrical signal your body is sending to your brain. Understand that and learn how to bypass it, and you’ll be able to push yourself much further than you ever thought you could.

Workout
8x (20sec work/10 sec rest)
Pull Ups
Push Ups
Sit Ups
Squats
Push Presses, 45/35lbs

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