 Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday. Many folks will be traveling this week and upcoming in December. I wanted to give my clients, friends, and family an easy way to stay active, regardless of the circumstances of planed events and/or lack of equipment. The videos below outline 3 possible workouts: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. You could sneak away from the family and get these quick workouts in or even better -encourage them to join you. Check out the video(s) below! <Please Share (&) Like> this blog, and our facebook page. Quick tip: I am new to fitness, or it has been many years. I am trying the Beginner Level, but by the time I get to 40 & 50 seconds my form is bad (or) I feel pain in my (back, knee, e.t.c) Answer: First off, congrats for starting. Have fun with it and be smart. Never force pain. If it hurts stop. Is it hurting because your form is bad (or) do you have a preexisting injury that doesn't like what you are doing? If you have a yes answer - stop. Follow up, maybe you should check in with your doctor. If it is just tough - do the best you can. Your best you. If you need to stop at 30 seconds to keep your form good and withing your current skill set - do all your rounds with a max of 30 seconds. Quick tip: What do you do if the Advanced is a bit out of your wheelhouse of ability but you think the Intermediate is too easy for you? Answer: Don't just go through the motions, focus on the details. You could go through the motions and do a half-hearted push-up, you'll get the blood pumping. Which is good. But if you focused on bracing your mid-section, as if your brother was going to kick you in the stomach if he thought you were getting lazy, that is a different level of push-up. If you squeeze your glutes (your butt for my non-fitness enthusiast friends) as tight as you can and keep it in alignment with your torso - now that's a push-up! Focus on the details. Quick tip: I want to do the advanced, but I am not so great at the pistol squats. Answer: Get a coach to help you get better. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to "get pistol squats". If I had a coach help me, it would have greatly expedited my skill development. For implementing this program for fun, you could get a box, chair, bench (something sturdy). Focus on pushing your hips back, and control a slow descent for the down movement until your butt "touches down to a complete stop onto the object. For the upward movement either pause for a second, then go back up (or) just stand up using both feet (do NOT bounce). Question: Hey guy, isn't it a little early for a Christmas t-shirt? Answer: I agree, but I don't have any Thanksgiving T-shirts. 
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 Have you been thinking of starting or changing your exercise routine? Online personal training is a great way to work with a trainer at a fraction of the 1-on-1 investment. (Previous blog with video of sample online personal training) The holidays are a busy time of the year - stay on track, stay accountable. Skip the gym and workout at home (or) utilize the equipment you have access to at your local gym. After writing up workout routines for over 2 decades, I choose to simplify -but if you prefer complex and complicated - I can show you how to make it more difficulty (notice i didn't say more effective). Simple doesn't mean easy. You still need to put in the work and stay consistent. Remember, "The Secret of getting ahead is getting started." - Mark Twain If you are ready to get started, sign up: Always Get Better Stronger Programs   The holidays are coming. Do something for yourself. Start an exercise program.
Why exercise before the holidays and not just wait for New Years Resolution season? Because exercise can do a lot for you. Especially during the holiday season. Exercise can help you enjoy your friends & family more by providing:
In my experience, keeping it simple improves the probability for success. How can we make it simple to implement:
If you are ready to get started, check out: Online Personal Training Programs Off-season is your opportunity to get better. You would not want to mix things up during the ramp up to your competition. But your competition is over. Now is your opportunity to knock off the rust and improve upon possible weak link(s) that have built up over your season (race or races).
GET STRONG The stronger you are the faster you will potentially be. But let's clarify - you aren't a bodybuilder. Bodybuilders often equate the success of their workouts by how destroyed their muscles feel afterwards. Can you imagine? You are limping around stutter stepping & pulling yourself up the stairs via the railing. But you are happy - "Bro that workout was amazing!" But I am writing this assuming you are not a bodybuilding triathlete. Off-season or not, being 'this' sore will not help you be a better athlete. You want strength that will compliment your sport. Strength that will facilitate your force production: pushing harder into the ground, to be able to run faster; move your bike further faster; pull yourself further/faster in the water! Because it is the off-season, being a little sore while your body is figuring out the moves is acceptable. Goal being, you get better at the skills of the movement & you find your "sweet spot" for the weight so that when you do go into your prep phase you can continue some of these moves to maintain strength and not be sore. Because soreness is the enemy of athletic performance. There are many exercises to choose from. I am a big fan of simplification and hacking away at the unessential. If you love to resistance train - terrific (let's workout sometime)! But if you just want to improve your sport and work on making your body more resilient (less likely to get injured) - then find a handful of exercises you can practice - get good at those and see the benefits without taking up a second residence at the gymnasium. Every athlete will have exercises that they are better at; which could change my personal recommendations. But to keep this list short and generally applicable to most, I came up with the following list: Racked Split Squats, Pull-overs, Face-pulls, & rolling planks. Racked Split Squats I like these for tri-athletes because it works on leg strength, midsection bracing, core anti-rotation and some ankle stabilization. Pull-overs I like these because it engages a similar movement to the "pull" of a swimming stroke. You can do this using a dumbbell or cable machine. From experience, watching people's form - I'd say for most - the cable machine is the best option. In this instance I will be highlighting the 1-arm pull over. Because I believe it will keep your movements more honest, I think it has a better carry over, and it has a slight anti-rotation component (but performing the 2-hand pull-over is acceptable provided your form is good). Face-pulls I like these because they help most people with improving their posture. Posture is important and something all of us could improve upon. Rolling Planks I like these because they: improve your midsection strength, it is bringing your body through a version of rotation, and can inadvertently work a little of the upper body musculature. Proper resistance selection Your goal is to practice and get better at the movements. I the beginning there will be sort of a discovery process finding the correct resistance selection for you. The ideal weight is NOT so heavy your form breaks down (or) you have to "psych yourself up" to complete. It also is NOT so easy that you can discuss all the happenings of your day while you mindlessly go through the movements. You want to find the resistance that you have to take serious, but you can complete with crisp form. For you, it should feel "tough-ish", but completely manageable (you are in control). The program Your target is 3 days of practice per week. The resistance is the same for the entire week. You practice is a/an: hard day (tough but you did it), easy day (yes that is it - go home and recover), and medium day. In that order. Take a day off between workouts. When you are comfortable with the movements and the hard day is no longer hard - go up in weight, but be reasonable. Warm-up however you warm up pre-race (maybe movement/mobility drills, body weight pause squats, mountain-climbers, light walk/jog). Practice all reps/sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. Rest as long as you need to perform the next set with good form. This could be 60 seconds, it could be 2 minutes. Hard day: Racked Split squat 5 reps each side x 4 sets Pull-overs (single arm) 6 reps each side x 4 sets Face-pulls 10 reps x 4 sets Rolling planks 5 rotations each side x 4 sets Easy day: Racked Split squat 5 reps each side x 2 sets Pull-overs (single arm) 6 reps each side x 2 sets Face-pulls 10 reps x 2 sets Rolling planks 5 rotations each side x 2 sets Medium day: Racked Split squat 5 reps each side x 3 sets Pull-overs (single arm) 6 reps each side x 3 sets Face-pulls 10 reps x 3 sets Rolling planks 5 rotations each side x 3 sets Download a free e-book with written instruction and pictures of this workout by clicking here.  My November plan -Get Back to Work
Week 1 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Deads(M) Deads(L) Off Deads(H) Deads(M) Press(L) Press(H) Press(M) Week 2 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Deads(M) Deads(L) Off Deads(H) Deads(L) Deads(M) Press(L) Press(H) Press(L) Press(H) Press(M) Week 3 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Deads(M) Off Deads(L) Deads(H) Deads(L) Press(L) Press(H) Press(L) Press(H) Press(L) Press(M) Week 4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Deads(M) Deads(L) Off Deads(H) Feast Deads(L) Press(L) Press(H) Press(M) with the Pilgrims! Deads = Barbell deadlifts Press = Kettlebell 1-arm presses *also not list weighted pull-ups will be added most days (Except Tuesdays & Saturdays) (L) 71%-80% 1RM (M) 81%-90% 1RM (H) 91%-to-100% 1RM 1RM = 1 Rep max The selection of (L), (M), & (H) is based off of the intensity of the weight used for the day and has no direct correlation with the repetitions for the day (which is distributed ). |
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