Good Ideas Gone Bad

I'll be the first to applaud people for making it to the gym. But that's where my applause usually stops. I can not applaud people for doing something that I totally disagree with. I can not applaud people for doing something that I know is 100% wrong. I can not applaud people for increasing their injury risk while doing something that just makes me shake my head. Yes, I know their intentions are good. But it's only the intention that is usually good, because the result is usually bad or in some cases non-existent.

Good idea to squat. I love squats as an exercise and always will. But it's a bad idea to squat with bad form and an even worse idea to squat with bad form and load on the bar. Get the chiropractor on line one. Please, take the time to learn how to squat properly.

Good idea to use the foam rollers. Foam rolling may not be quite as effective as massage, but it's pretty damn close and can be done on a more routine basis. But it's a bad idea to use the foam roller as an unstable surface training device, unless you're practicing for a lumberjack competition. Please, use the appropriate training toll for the appropriate function.

Good idea to do some static stretching. The one aspect of general fitness that is probably neglected the most is flexibility. If you want to keep the injury bug away, your muscles need to have some length. But it's a bad idea to stretch with lazy or careless form. Just like with any other forms of exercise, posture and technique need to be taken into account. If not, you're not doing yourself any good. Just because it feels good where you think it's supposed to, doesn't mean it's actually good for you. Getting drunk on a Friday night feels pretty good, but the hangover on Saturday morning doesn't.

Good idea to do some single leg work. Doing some some single work will identify and hopefully balance any asymmetries from left to right sides. But it's a bad idea to only do quad dominant single leg work. Yes, there are hamstring or posterior chain dominant single leg exercises such single leg Romanian deadlifts and Valslide reverse lunges.

Good idea to incorporate some core work into your training routine. Your core can be the weak link that is preventing you from having success with exercises such as push ups or deadlifts. A weak core doesn't allow proper energy transfer from the upper body to the lower body or vice versa. But it's a bad idea to think that doing crunches, reverse crunches and back extensions are good exercises to strengthen your core. Think of the primary role of your core in the first place which is stability. None of these exercises train stability. Employ some plank, wood chop, odd object lifting, uneven loading instead.

Remember good ideas donnot always wind up with good results.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Extended Set TRX Push Up

A high rep training method that I'll use from time to time is referred to as as extended sets or mechanical advantage sets. Basically you're starting from your hardest angle of work and moving to angles where you'll gain more of an advantage because the force being applied is less. For instance, you could start with a dumbbell incline press, go to near failure and then move to a flat dumbbell press. Or with push ups you could move from a foot elevated position to a position where your feet are on the floor to a position where your hands are elevated.

In the following video, I take use this same principle of mechanical advantage with push ups on the TRX®. I start from the hardest angle which is near parallel to the floor. As I get to near failure, I walk my feet up a bit so that I'm slightly angled to the floor and go to near failure there. And then I finish off the set by walking my feet a couple more inches forward and squeezing out a couple more reps.

Exercise of the Week: Metabolic Conditioning Circuit

I ran out of videos. Or should I say haven't shot any videos lately. My bad. So going back to pre-YouTube days I'm actually going to describe or write out an exercise of the week.

Finishers and conditioning circuits seem to be the thing lately because of the exercise density, the increased workout intensity and the positive effects they have on fat loss. The following metabolic conditioning circuit was borrowed from the Warp Speed fat Loss program, which I'm currently experimenting with.

1)Lateral Step Out Squat, 30 seconds
2)Jump Rope, 90 seconds
3)Alternate Step Up, 30 seconds
4)Jump Rope, 90 seconds
5)Plank Walk Up, 30 seconds
6)Jump Rope, 90 seconds
7)Burpee, 30 seconds
8)Jump Rope, 90 seconds
9)Lateral Step Out squat, 30 seconds
10)Jump Rope, 90 seconds
11)Alternate Step Up, 30 seconds

Move from one exercise to the next without any rest and perform each exercise for the prescribed time.

Don't have a jump rope? Go to Perform Better and pick one up for $10-20. Or just substitute some jumping jacks instead.

Warp Speed Fat Loss Training

Here's one day from Alwyn Cosgrove's and Mike Roussell's Warp Speed Fat Loss training program. I started this up a couple of weeks ago with the hopes of dropping a few points off my bodyfat percentage going into the spring. I hate rest periods under 90 seconds and I hate any rep ranges over 10. Not because it doesn't work, but because I get gassed and can usually be found in the corner gasping for air. But sometimes if you want certain things, you have to get out of your comfort zone and do some things you normally wouldn't do.

A1)Squat, 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps
A2)Seated Cable Row, 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps
*90 seconds of rest between each exercise

B1)Squat, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
B2)Seated Cable Row, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
*60 seconds of rest between each exercise

C1)Step Up, 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps
C2)Lat Pulldown, 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps
C3)DB Squat, 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps
C4)Push press, 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps
*60 seconds of rest between each exercise.

And you're not done yet. Time for some metabolic conditioning work to really accelerate those fat loss efforts

Jumping Jacks, 30seconds
Jump Rope, 90 seconds
Single Leg Burpee, 30 seconds
Jump Rope, 90 seconds
Mountain Climbers, 30 seconds
Jump Rope, 90 seconds
Kettlebell Swings, 30 seconds
Jump Rope Recovery, 90 seconds
Jumping Jacks, 30 seconds
Jump Rope, 90 seconds
Single Leg Burpees, 30 seconds

Done yet? Yes. But the next 27 days are not any easier. I'll be the first to say that I'll be glad when this 28 day period is over. Now if I could only get that nutrition in check.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Band Resisted Ab Wheel Roll Out

I saw this version of the ab wheel roll out performed by strength coach Eric Cressey awhile back. I finally decided to give it a shot. Roll outs are an excellent exercise as part of your core training since they train the rectus abdominus through it's primary movement which is anti-extension of the spine. And if you're searching for that abdominal soreness, you're going to get it through roll outs because of the eccentric nature of the exercise. But I must warn you. This is not a version of the roll out you should jump right into unless you're aiming for some low back soreness also. If you're not doing any roll outs presently, work on the stability ball version first then move onto the ab wheel and then may be this resisted version.