RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: T Push-up

Tired of doing push-ups? Maybe they're too easy for you. Or maybe you want to mix-in a different exercise to your upper body training routine. This week's exercise of the week, the T Push-up, can be done anywhere. It can be made more difficult by adding in dumbbells or by moving the weight of the dumbbells up. And it's a great exercise that will target almost every muscle in your upper body, while promoting "core" (an overused term which will be discussed in further blog) strength and stability.

Perform the exercise by starting in a normal push-up position (with or without dumbbell's). As you push yourself off the floor, rotate one arm up towards the ceiling while posting your body on the other arm. In the top position you should resemble a "T". Return to the starting position, and then repeat on the other side.

Top 5 Mistakes Seen in the Gym

Only five mistakes? I could list hundreds of mistakes that I see every day. But this is a blog, not an encyclopedia. Here are what I think are the top five mistakes done in the gym.

Mistake #1: Endless Cardio Sessions. Get off the bike, put down your latest issue of Shape magazine, and hit the weights. I see the same people performing endless amounts of cardio for days, months, and years and their bodies never change. Check out one of my previous posts (No More Aerobics) to understand why.

Mistake #2: Not Enough Weight. What happened to people getting strong? Too many people are too weak these days. Everyone wants to tone? Well you know what? In order to "tone", you have to build up muscle. In order to build up muscle you have to lift a significant amount of weight. Get way from high rep training for awhile and try something like 4 sets of 6-8 reps or 5 sets of 5 reps.

Mistake #3: Smith Machine Use. How is this machine still in the gym? Even worse, you can usually find it in the free weight area. It's a machine!! It's an overuse injury causing machine!! The argument from those who use it, say it helps with your form. Huh? It teaches you to squat and press incorrectly because the bar is not able to follow it's natural path. It's good for two exercises: inverted rows and bar push ups. That's it.

Mistake #4: Crunch, Crunch, Crunch. A lot of injuries are posture related, so one of the goals of any strength program is to get as close as possible to perfect posture. So what happens when an individual performs a crunch? Bad posture is created. The shoulders come forward, the thoracic and cervical spines flex, and the abdominal area becomes shortened. All bad posture reinforcing movements. Get away from crunches and start performing exercises such as prone planks, reverse crunches and Russian twists.

Mistake #5: Split Body Part Training. Unless you're a body builder, there is no need to use a split body part routine. One of the main focuses in the strength training world is "functional training". How functional is it to train chest/tri's on one day and then back/bi's the next. Focus on training movements rather than training muscles. You'll get more "bang for your buck", especially for those who complain about not having enough time to work out.


As I said earlier, there are hundreds of mistakes made everyday in the gym. These are what I think the top five are. Five mistakes that can be corrected in order to get the most out of your training program. As a trainer, I've made the same mistakes in the past. But I've learned a great deal through my mistakes. And hopefully all of you reading this will learn something to.

Exercise of the Week

Going forward, I'm going to try and post my "exercise of the week" on this blog. They will be exercises that I'm using or have used with clients. They are exercises that I might consider essential and ones that should be included in your workout program at one point or another.

This week's exercise is the one-legged squat. It is an exercise I have borrowed from strength coach Mike Boyle. This is one that should be incorporated into any athlete's training program. It develops single-leg strength, engages all of the stabilizing muscles of the working leg, and can be used as an assessment tool to look for any muscular imbalances or inefficiencies. Here's a picture of me doing my best with this tough exercise:

Happy Father's Day

Yeah, I know. I'm a day late, but I didn't get the chance to sit down in front of my computer yesterday. But I did get to meet my dad for breakfast, just the two of us, and enjoy a moment with him. I can say I wouldn't be where I am today without my dad. He's stood by me the entire way. Encouraging me. Helping me out. Straightening me out. He's been there. I can't say enough how much I appreciate him. And I don't need one day out of the entire year to express this gratitude. I've felt like this for a lifetime and know I'll always feel this way. So again, Happy Father's Day Dad.

In-home Workouts

Yes, it's nice to be able to go to the gym and get a good workout in. It's good to get out of the house. It's nice to socialize with others. There's plenty of equipment to use there which enables a variety of exercise routines. But sometimes it just doesn't workout as planned. The kids are home sick. Or maybe you're waiting around for the HVAC guy to come and fix you central AC that you just can't do without. For what ever reason you get stuck at home.
The inclination most people make when they can't get to the gym is: no gym, no workout today. Why? You don't have any equipment at home, so you possibly can not get anything done worthwhile. Wrong!! You do not need equipment. All you need is to get your own body moving. Doing a bodyweight routine alone is enough for any individual. The following is an example routine that can be done anywhere and one that is challenging for any level of fitness.

T Push-ups (right arm up) x10-12
Alternating Forward Lunge x12-15 each leg
T Push-ups (left arm up) x10-12
Sprinter Sit-up x8-10 each side
Prone Plank 45-60sec
*Rest 10sec between each exercise; after prone plank, rest 60sec and repeat sequence 4-5 x.

That's it. Simple, yet effective. Give it a try next time you're not able to get out the front door.

No more aerobics!!

Did I get your attention? Good. Can aerobic training really be bad? Yes, if one of your goals is to reduce your bodyfat composition. In the short term it may work because of the calories burned during the aerobic session. But if one of your goals is to drop bodyfat, do you want to do it just for the short term or do you want it for the long term. Repeated aerobic exercise (biking, running, rowing, etc.) teaches your body to become efficient, when actually you want to create inefficiency with each exercise session. This inefficiency will pull energy from different sources (fats, carbohydrates, protein) and force the body to work overtime. And unless you work for the Department of Public Works (sorry if I offended anyone), working overtime produces greater results.

Workout, Biggest Loser, Celebrity Fit Club

What other shows are out there? If you're reading this blog, you most likely have seen one of these shows. You've seen the intense training the participants go through and you've seen the incredible transformations they've made. Some of these people have dropped anywhere from 50-150 pounds and stripped large amounts of bodyfat from their frames. So what happens? Everyone that is watching the show thinks, "Hey, why can't I do that?". Because for most of you, it's not reality!! How many of you can devote your entire day to losing weight? How many of you have personal chefs? How many of you can exercsie for 3-4 hours per day? And most of you, myself included, can not be pounded into the ground on a daily basis like these people. Do not take what you see on these shows and think you can compare yourself. You can't. Be real to yourself. Follow a good, sound nutrional program. Get a program customized toward your goals. And then adhere to what you've been given. That's reality.

Swing Mechanics

What are the most popular sports during the spring? Probably golf, tennis, baseball and softball (maybe even badminton for all you cookout crazies). What do all these sports have in commom? They all involve a hand held implement and they all involve swinging that implement. Now most people like to get better at their sport. In order to get better at their sport they have to improve different aspects of their game. One aspect to improve upon is the swing. And this is where as a fitness professional I must step in.
I see some crazy things in the gym. And one of the craziest things I see is people working on their "swing" inside the gym. They're using barbbells, cables, bands, whatever they can get their hands on. And then they're trying to actually replicate the swing. They hear and read about sport specific training and believe they have to replicate the movement exactly. Well, you know what's happening? They're actually screwing up their swing mechanics. Rather they should be working on the muscles or types of movements that are involved in their sporting movement. In this case it would be: rotational mobility of the hips, stabilization of the lumbar spine, thoracic mobility, rotator cuff strengthening, etc.. Save the swing work for the drivivng range, batting cage or tennis court.