10/24/11
Exercise of the Week: Alternating Standing Cable Row
I know I haven't put up a quality blog post lately. Between training existing clients, taking on new clients, working on the business, looking for some quality part time help and managing my fantasy football team I haven't been left with much time. I guess once football season is over I'll have more time.
I am still going to try an get an exercise of the week video up on a weekly basis. And I hope to continue to do so without repeating any other videos I've put up over the last couple of years.
This week's video is a variation of a standing cable row. This variation is a bit different in that there is an isometric hold on one side while movement is occurring on the other side. With this variation you're going to tax the scapular retractors a bit more and get the added benefit of some core stability work in terms of working on resisting rotation through the lumbar spine.
I am still going to try an get an exercise of the week video up on a weekly basis. And I hope to continue to do so without repeating any other videos I've put up over the last couple of years.
This week's video is a variation of a standing cable row. This variation is a bit different in that there is an isometric hold on one side while movement is occurring on the other side. With this variation you're going to tax the scapular retractors a bit more and get the added benefit of some core stability work in terms of working on resisting rotation through the lumbar spine.
Time to get back to the waiver wire. Have a great week.
10/12/11
Some of My Favorites
Every now and then I am asked "What is the best blah, blah, blah.....?". It might be an upper body exercise or weight loss method or snack food. I would say nine out of ten times the question is "What is the best exercise to get rid of this?" as the individual points to their over expanding waistline while holding onto a 32oz beer in the other hand.
I hate answering the "what is the best" question because what is the best has to be applied on an individual basis. What I consider to be the best lower body exercise for me is not necessarily going to be the best exercise for you. My best exercise may leave you limping around and cursing me out for three weeks. In just about every case there is no "best" that can be applied to every individual. What I can tell you is what some of my favorites are when it comes to exercises, foods, stretches, etc. A lot of my favorites have worked for me and in some cases have also worked with a good number of my clients.
Favorite snack: Natural peanut butter on Ezekiel bread with a few banana slices and bit of natural honey. Actually put some type of nut butter on anything and it will always rank up there on my favorites list.
Favorite Protein Shake Combo: Two cups of coconut or almond milk, 5-6 frozen strawberries, a handful of spinach, a tablespoon of some nut butter, a tablespoon of coconut butter, 6-8 ice cubes and chocolate protein powder. This blends together nice and heavy. I don't like thin shakes. I like them a bit thicker since it takes a bit longer to consume. And I've been throwing some spinach into most of my blended shakes. It gets me an extra serving of greens that I'm usually missing over the course of the day. And you can't even taste the spinach in there.
Favorite Upper Body Exercise: Any chin up variation. It could be weighted chin ups or just body weight chin ups for higher rep sets. It could be fat grip chin ups or towel chin ups. As long as it's not proceeded by the word "kipping".
Favorite Mobility Exercise: The Spiderman lunge. There's just so much you can do with this exercise. You can add in a hip lift. You can add in some thoracic rotation. You can precede it with a knee hug. Lots of variations you can do to work lower and upper body mobility
Favorite Oatmeal Combo: 1/2 cup of oatmeal, a bit of almond or coconut milk, a few banana slices, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.
Favorite Piece of Cardio Equipment: The Schwinn Airdyne. It's about 1/5 the cost of a quality treadmill or elliptical and about 5x harder than either. Spend anywhere from 8-15 minutes doing intervals on this thing and that's all you need. It's also one of my favorite's because I think it's the number one most hated piece of training equipment by my clients.
Favorite Piece Nutritional Advice: Increase protein intake. First thing I find with most people's nutritional intake is that their protein intake is too low so I suggest having a protein source with each meal. Making sure protein intake is up is usually going to mean you're eating higher quality foods, displacing carbohydrates, stabilizing blood sugar and maybe even dropping your daily calorie intake.
Favorite Training Sneaker: It used to be the Nike Free until I just picked up the New Balance Minimus. The latest Nike Free has gone away from it's original minimalist concept by increasing the heel lift. With the New Balance there is very little heel lift to give you that barefoot training feel. Not only that I love the look of the shoes.
Favorite Beer: I can't have a favorites list with out listing my favorite beer which would be.....Guinness. Some people pick and choose their times to drink Guinness. I can drink it year round. A good salad or a nice piece of steak with a pint of Guinness. Now we're talking. I do have my doubts about Guineas Black Lager though. When something is so pristine as Guinness, why mess with it?
So what are some of your favorites?
I hate answering the "what is the best" question because what is the best has to be applied on an individual basis. What I consider to be the best lower body exercise for me is not necessarily going to be the best exercise for you. My best exercise may leave you limping around and cursing me out for three weeks. In just about every case there is no "best" that can be applied to every individual. What I can tell you is what some of my favorites are when it comes to exercises, foods, stretches, etc. A lot of my favorites have worked for me and in some cases have also worked with a good number of my clients.
Favorite snack: Natural peanut butter on Ezekiel bread with a few banana slices and bit of natural honey. Actually put some type of nut butter on anything and it will always rank up there on my favorites list.
Favorite Protein Shake Combo: Two cups of coconut or almond milk, 5-6 frozen strawberries, a handful of spinach, a tablespoon of some nut butter, a tablespoon of coconut butter, 6-8 ice cubes and chocolate protein powder. This blends together nice and heavy. I don't like thin shakes. I like them a bit thicker since it takes a bit longer to consume. And I've been throwing some spinach into most of my blended shakes. It gets me an extra serving of greens that I'm usually missing over the course of the day. And you can't even taste the spinach in there.
Favorite Upper Body Exercise: Any chin up variation. It could be weighted chin ups or just body weight chin ups for higher rep sets. It could be fat grip chin ups or towel chin ups. As long as it's not proceeded by the word "kipping".
Favorite Mobility Exercise: The Spiderman lunge. There's just so much you can do with this exercise. You can add in a hip lift. You can add in some thoracic rotation. You can precede it with a knee hug. Lots of variations you can do to work lower and upper body mobility
Favorite Oatmeal Combo: 1/2 cup of oatmeal, a bit of almond or coconut milk, a few banana slices, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter.
Favorite Piece of Cardio Equipment: The Schwinn Airdyne. It's about 1/5 the cost of a quality treadmill or elliptical and about 5x harder than either. Spend anywhere from 8-15 minutes doing intervals on this thing and that's all you need. It's also one of my favorite's because I think it's the number one most hated piece of training equipment by my clients.
Favorite Piece Nutritional Advice: Increase protein intake. First thing I find with most people's nutritional intake is that their protein intake is too low so I suggest having a protein source with each meal. Making sure protein intake is up is usually going to mean you're eating higher quality foods, displacing carbohydrates, stabilizing blood sugar and maybe even dropping your daily calorie intake.
Favorite Training Sneaker: It used to be the Nike Free until I just picked up the New Balance Minimus. The latest Nike Free has gone away from it's original minimalist concept by increasing the heel lift. With the New Balance there is very little heel lift to give you that barefoot training feel. Not only that I love the look of the shoes.
Favorite Beer: I can't have a favorites list with out listing my favorite beer which would be.....Guinness. Some people pick and choose their times to drink Guinness. I can drink it year round. A good salad or a nice piece of steak with a pint of Guinness. Now we're talking. I do have my doubts about Guineas Black Lager though. When something is so pristine as Guinness, why mess with it?
So what are some of your favorites?
10/2/11
Exercise of the Week: Jungle Gym Pull Up
Adjusting the handles of the Jungle Gym XT up to their highest possible height gives us another variation for pull ups. Using the Jungle Gym XT allows for internal and external of the shoulder which increases demand on your shoulder stabilizers. It may also be a good variation for those who feel chin ups really beat up their elbows.
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