Exercise of the Week: Single Arm DB Floor Press

Floor presses are a nice exercise to add into your training program as an alternative for some horizontal pressing work, an alternative for some triceps work or if coming back from a shoulder injury.  The shortened range of motion is going to cause less stress on the shoulder and place more emphasis on the triceps.  You could perform barbell floor presses, dumbbell floor presses or even kettlebell floor presses.    But why would I perform single arm floor presses?  Two reasons.  One is the offset loading that is going to require more core stability demands especially when the weight is cranked up.  The second reason has to do with the weight being cranked up.  Getting into and out of position when weight starts going up with a bi-lateral dumbbell floor press can be pretty difficult.  I find it much easier to get into and out of the position with the single arm version once the weight in each arm starts going up.  You are able to use your free arm to get into and out of the racked position almost like you would if you were doing a Turkish Get Up.



One more thing....have a happy and healthy new year.  Make 2014 your year!!

It's Not Just a Reach

Exercise of the Week: Medial & Lateral Hurdle Hops

Medial and lateral hurdle hops are exercises that are used early on in the lateral plyo progression.  The concern really isn't how high the individual is hopping.  The concern here is how the individual controls the landing from the hop.  Once the individual shows the ability to control the landing in both directions, medially and laterally, then we'll move onto an exercise that is going to have more power emphasis such as Heidens.

Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Reverse Lunge w/Press Out

Women vs. Men

I've been training since 1999.  In that fourteen year period I've learned  a lot,  I've seen a lot and I have been amazed a lot.  One thing I picked up on  and continue to see is the difference between women and men when it comes to training, nutrition and even the clothes they work out in.  Here are some of my observations:

• Women do not know that a rest period should exist from time to time. Women just want to know what the next exercise is.  Rest periods do not exist for them.  Men on the other hand are hoping for a rest period between exercises and they want to know what the exact rest period is.    
• If a woman can not do a chin up it is usually because she is not strong enough.  If a man can not do a chin up it is usually because he is not lean enough. 
• Women have nice workout clothes and are willing to send some decent money on their workout clothes at places such as Lululemon.   Guys do not care about their workout clothes, will not spend money on their workout clothes and if they do buy workout clothes they buy them at TJ Maxx.
• Women would not be caught dead in tube socks.  Men have no problem wearing tube socks no matter the color, how many stripes are on them or whether they are "quitters".
• Women are too focused on whether a food is low fat or not.  Men do not think enough about fat in their diets.
• Women want a pizza with vegetables.  Men want to know how many combinations of meat they can put on their pizza.
• Women love to count calories.  Men have no idea how many calories they are taking in on a daily basis.
• Women love their egg whites.  Men love eggs.....and bacon...and sausage.
• Women are focused on three areas when it comes to training: core, glutes and arms.  Men are focused on three different areas when it comes to training: chest, abs and bi's.
• Women who are afraid of being big bulky from strength training have been mislead through years of weightlifting mythology.  Men who are afraid of getting big and bulky have no chance of getting big and bulky in the first place.

• Women care what they look like when they work out.  Men have no idea what they look like when they workout.
• Woman do not work on push ups because they have been told for years they should do "girl" push ups.  Men do not work on push ups because they would rather bench press.
• Women think "cardio" can not be anything less than 60 minutes.  Men think "cardio" is anything over five minutes.
• Women are not focused enough on protein intake.  Men are too focused on protein intake and not enough on vegetable intake.
• Women like to do what's trendy....hot yoga, ballet barre, spin fusion (Does spin fusion exist?)  Men like to do what they were doing in the high school weight room twenty years ago.
• Woman want more exercise variety in their training and are more susceptible to exercise ADD.  Men would bench press and do biceps curls every day of the week for months on end if you told them to do so.
• Women need to be pushed to lift heavier weights.  Men need to be told to back off on the weight and be coached up on their form.
• Women have a right to wear spandex to the gym.  Men never have a right to wear spandex to the gym.
• Women are too focused on flexibility work especially if they are already flexibile or mobile.  Men are not focused enough on flexibility work especially if they are not flexibile or mobile.
• Women are more open to working with a personal trainer.  Men think only women work with a personal trainer.

Want to add anything to the list?

Exercise of the Week: Lateral Bound w/Rebound

Before we take a look at this week's exercise of the week let's get one thing out of the way.  I'm getting old.  I'm getting slow.  I'm getting less powerful.  So if you're looking for me to jump across or out of the room in the following video it's not going to happen.  And since I am getting old and slow I make sure to keep up with my power training whether it be medicine ball throws, plyometrics, kettlebell swings or dynamic exercises such as deadlifts or bench presses for speed.

Onto the lateral bound with rebound.  This exercise is part of a lower body lateral plyometric progression.  A typical progression may look like:

1. Lateral and medial hops to a box
2. Lateral and medial low hurdle hops 
3. Lateral Bounds with a stick (meaning sticking the landing)
4. Lateral Bounds with a rebound 
5. Lateral Bounds with a rebound to a 10yd sprint

Here's the lateral bound with a rebound.

Exercise of the Week: Dead Stop SLDL

Most variations of the SLDL (single leg deadlift) have to do with changing the way the exercise is loaded.  For instance, you can use an off-set load, you can place a kettlebell or dumbbell in each hand and use a bilateral load or you can use a barbell to load the exercise.

Another variation of the SLDL has to do with changing the tempo of the exercise by using a dead stop in the bottom position.  And more than just for variety sake the dead stop SLDL is particularly useful in two situations:

1. Introducing the exercise to someone for the first time.  Slowing down the tempo of the SLDL with a dead stop will give you an idea of how the exercise is supposed to feel and look.
2. To overload glutes.  After you come to a dead stop position it's going to be awfully hard to get that weight off the floor without a solid contraction of the glute.

Fixing Your Push Up....and Squat

Exercise of the Week: Deadbug w/Wall Press

The deadbug with wall Press, also known as the Kolar Deadbug, doesn't look like much of an exercise, but it is a great exercise to use to train the anti-extension function of the core.

You're just going to set up in a supine position just off a wall. Next bring your feet off the floor so that your hips and knees are bent at 90 degrees.  In this position your lower back should  flatten out.  Reach your arms overhead and press into the wall as hard as you can like you are trying to push yourself away from the wall.  This is your starting position.  From the starting position you are going to extend one leg out while maintaining that flat back position and actively pushing into the wall throughout the entire set.  Return your leg to the starting position and repeat on the other side.  Perform 6-10 reps with each leg.

This exercise can be used as part of your warm up, as part of your core work are as a filler between sets of another exercise.

Exercise of the Week: Split Squat w/Belly Press

I'm always looking to create efficiency through my training programs and use exercises that give you the biggest bang for your buck. Here's one: the Split Squat w/Belly Press.

If we take a look at the Joint by Joint approach the hips need mobility and the core needs stability.  What does the Split Squat w/Belly Press emphasize?  Hip mobility and core stability.

 

No Need to be Scared

It will happen every couple of weeks or so.  A new client will come in for their first session with that look of absolute fear in their eyes.  They are practically shaking in their old, dirtied up New Balance kicks.  They haven't worked out in a year.   Some have never really worked out their entire life. They may be overweight. So what is this fear in their eyes all about?  It comes from watching the Biggest Loser or from them hearing about how their out of shape friends just started Crossfit.  From what they see and what they hear they should expect to be sore for a week, have to crawl up and down the stairs and come to their first session with a puke bucket.

This is not what your first session should look like

Well, it does not have to be that way and definitely should not be that way.  Should you expect a bit of soreness and some fatigue from your first session?  Probably.  But should you induce so much damage to your body during your first session that you are terrified to come back for your next session?  Most definitely not.  Believe it or not you can get some substantial work in by just moving or making small progressions or handling smaller amounts of work with each successive session.  You should be in it for the long term.  Not for one session or 14 days or 30 days or 90 days like some popular training program claims.

So what should your first session look like?  Let me give you an example.  It is nothing crazy. It is actually a workout that I would probably do with any new client that comes through the door, whether they are new to training or whether they tell me how great they are and how much they can do. That is when I hit the B.S. button.  If you are in such great shape and can do this and can do that why are you coming to train with me? Anyways,  essentially what I am trying to do during this first session is get you comfortable with the gym, get you comfortable with a few different pieces of equipment and get you comfortable with a few different movements.  The uncomfortableness will come in following sessions.

Basically the first session should follow the same template as a normal training session minus the conditioning work at the end and fewer exercises during each part of the session.

So we will start with some foam rolling.  Usually just hit the quads, glutes and upper back.  We will usually stay away from areas that can be really tender such as the IT band or stay away from getting more localized with the lacrosse ball  which can be pretty uncomfortable.

Alright, a few minutes have been spent getting an idea of what foam rolling is like and then we will move into some movement prep work.  Most people are going to be locked up through the hips and thoracic spine so we will usually  address those areas with 5-6 simple movements such as hip flexor pulses, glute bridges, quadruped extensions/rotations, high knee walks, and spiderman lunges.  Nothing too crazy, but you may even have a little sweat going right now.

Next we will get into some mini band walks to wake up those sleepy glutes and do some prone planks to set the table for future core work.  With the planks we are not trying to set any records.  Some people will only be able to mange ten second holds.  That's fine.  Do 3-5 ten second holds. All we are trying to do is get an idea of what a correct plank should look and feel like.  Too many times I hear people talking about how they can hold a 60 second plank and by ten seconds their plank looks like nothing that resembles a plank.  60 seconds of a poorly performed plank might be worse than not being able to hold a ten second plank.

OK.  Some foam rolling work has been done and the movement prep work has been done.  Now onto the grass fed meat and sweet potatoes of the workout:  strength training.  And strength training is just as it sounds:  training for strength.  Strength is the foundation for fat loss, for power, for speed and even for injury prevention.  Everything feeds off of strength and way too many people are not strong enough.

The strength portion of that initial session is where things can go haywire and you can really induce some big time soreness.  Like I said, we should expect some soreness, but not some I have to slide down the stairs on my butt soreness.

With the movement prep work prior we have already gotten an idea of how mobile and how coordinated someone is so we will probably have a good idea of what exercises to use.  Basically I  will use 4-5 movements: a split squat variation, a half kneeling single arm cable row, a dumbbell bench press or incline press, a hip extension movement and a core exercise.  Sorry if that's not sexy enough for you.

With the split squat we will either go with a TRX assisted split squat or a regular split squat.  The TRX will aid those that have stability issues and deload the exercise if I feel you can not control your own body weight.  Usually we will do 8-10 reps here.

The half kneeling row is used to get you comfortable with the half kneeling position which we will use a lot in future workouts.  The half kneeling position will help with hip stability. We will go any where from 10-12 reps here.

The dumbbell bench press or incline press is pretty straightforward.  For people who have never used free weights before it's really not that difficult of an exercise.  Here we will do any where from 10-12 reps.

For a hip extension movement we have 2-3 exercises to choose from:  Swiss ball bridge, feet elevated bridge or a single leg bridge.  Here we are trying to get you used to feeling what locking up the glutes should feel like.  "Cracking walnuts".  10-15 reps will be used here.

And to finish off we will go with a core exercise.  There are usually three movements I will pick from: side plank, tall kneeing belly press, or tall kneeling cable lift.  If someone has some shoulder issues we will stay away from the side plank for now.  If we do go with the side plank we have two variations to go to:  the bent leg version, which we will call level one or the straight leg version which we will call level two.  Same thing as the prone plank: either 3-5 ten seconds holds or one hold of  20-30 seconds on each side.  If we go to the belly press press or cable lift instead we will use the tall kneeling position since this is the first progression in the progression of  these exercises.  It eliminates joints from the knee down so we have much less to worry about and again we are trying to promote hip stability.

So we'll take those 4-5 movements, throw them into a little circuit allowing you to take as much rest as needed between each exercise, rest after the completion of the first circuit and then attempt to complete another round.

And then that is basically it.  Maybe a few short intervals on the battling ropes if you have that look in your eyes like you want to do a little more.  Or if you have that look in your eyes that says "I surrender" we are done.  Time to review.  Time to get a feeling of where you are at.  Most people are surprised at how much work that really is even though it doesn't look like a lot on paper.

I am not going to try and kill you.  I am not trying to show you my "skills" as a trainer.  I am not going to brag about how sore I can make you.  This session and all future sessions are not about me.  It's about you.  I do not want you feeling scared.  I do not want you crawling on your hands and knees for a week.  I want you moving better. I want you feeling better.  I want you in it for the long haul.

Same But Different

Change up a grip.  Change up an angle.  Change up the tempo.  Change up the loading.  All effective ways you can add some variety to your exercise library without trying to come up a non-effective exercise.  Let's take a look at the dumbbell bench press for example.




And on another note Perform Better is holding it's annual End of Summer Sale.  If you were looking to save a few bucks to pick up some new equipment now is the time to act!  Just click on the link below.

Exercise of the Week: Anti-Rotation Hold w/Side Shuffle

Fixing Your SLDL

Exercise of the Week: Push Up Walk Outs

Here's an exercise that will really test the ant-extension capabilities of your core.

Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Leg Curl w/Isometric Glute Bridge

Val Slide leg curls alone are a great exercise to work the posterior chain, particularly the hamstrings.  The problem with them is that once people get stronger with them and are able to do anywhere between 12-15 reps per set they do not think about progressing them.  They just keep plugging away at the standard Val Slide leg curl.

Well there are ways to progress them.  You can use added resistance by placing a weight on top of the slides.  You can add resistance by placing your heels inside one end of a band and having a partner anchor the other end of the band.  You can progress them them by going to single leg curls or eccentric single leg leg curls.  Or here is another way to progress them that I saw done by strength coach Ben Bruno.  All you are going to do is perform an isometric barbell bridge while performing the leg curl action.  Your hamstrings will be working overtime here as you use them to keep your hips up against the added resistance while flexing the knees.  In fact my hamstrings were working so hard the first time I did these that I went into full on hamstring cramp mode.  And that was only with a bar weight of 65 pounds.  Take a look.

Exercise of the Week: Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press

For all you guys who brag about your "gym numbers" here's an exercise that will put your ego in check.  When performing a press with a kettlebell in the bottoms up position you are going to have to significantly reduce the load compared to the load used when pressing a dumbbell overhead.  The bottoms up position is going to require a good deal of grip strength and shoulder stabilization.  Plus, with the off set load you are also challenging core stabilization.

The Truth

We have all been there.  Sometimes we hear what we want to hear.  We do not want to be told the truth.  Or we do not want to tell someone else the truth because we are afraid how they will react.  Or maybe we will hurt their feelings.  Even when we are told the truth we ignore it.  Or we just deny the truth and do not acknowledge that the truth is right  It happens to us in all parts of life and in particularly it seems to happen a lot when we are talking about health and fitness.  Well, I am going to tell you the truth.  And if I hurt your feelings, I am sorry.  Actually, you know what?  I am not sorry because I am trying to help you out here.  So let's let the truth be told.

• Fellas, if you can not do one chin up or pull up you are either too fat or too weak.  Or worse case scenario, you are both fat and weak.
• You do not need to eat bread.  Yes, you can survive without it.  Bread is an option with your meals.  It is not a must have.
• All the ab exercises in the world will not not give you that "six pack" look if you are walking around with a high body fat percentage.   If you want visible abs you are going to have to drop your body fat percentage which will be a function of your entire training program, your nutrition and your lifestyle.  It is not a function of how many hundreds of crunches or sit ups you are doing.
• It takes a lot more than using fifteen pound dumbbells to "bulk up".
• You are not not doing enough foam rolling and mobility work.  I know it.  And if you are doing it you are not putting enough effort into it or are rushing through it.
• Alcohol will not help you lose weight.  I have never seen a diet that included alcohol as a staple of the diet.  But I have seen a lot of diets that suggest eliminating alchohol.  And if you want to lose weight, but do not want to give up alchohol that says something about your desire to really lose weight.
• Just going to the gym is not enough.  Anyone can go to the gym.  It's what you do while you are at the gym that matters.  You will get of it what you put into it.
• Most people do not know what working out hard really is.  Most people do not know what hunger really is.
• You do not need to snack.  You do not need cheat days.  
• There is nothing comfortable about weight loss or fat loss.  You are going to have to get out of your comfort zone if you want to do either.  
• You are probably not eating enough protein.  You are probably not eating enough fruits and vegetables.  You are probably eating too many carbs.
• Most of your weight loss is going to come from your nutritional habits.  You can can not out train a lousy diet.
• There is nothing healthy about orange juice, apple juice, grape juice or any other juice.
• There are 168 hours in a week.  If you want to lose weight you need to exercise 3-5 hours a week.  That's 2-3% of your week.  If losing weight is important enough to you you will find that 2-3%.
• There is nothing healthy about whole wheat or whole grains or mutli-grains or whatever other way companies want to disguise bread as being healthy.  Are they healthier than white bread? Sure.  But isn't smoking one pack a day healthier than smoking two packs a day?
• Jogging sucks.  It will not help you lose weight, but it will help you get hurt.  It will also help keep physical therapists in business.
• If you are overweight and your knees or lower back are hurting you it's not the knees or lower back that is the problem.  It is being overweight that is the problem.

Can you handle the truth?

Exercise of the Week: Alternating Chest Supported Row

Exercise of the Week: Kneeling Jump to Hurdle Jump

I've been messing around with some lower body plyos as part of my lower body training.  Here's another one: kneeling jump to hurdle jump.

Exercise of the Week: Hurdle Jump to Broad Jump

With this exercise you are going to train lower body power in two ways: the vertical plane and the horizontal plane.

Let me warn you before you go jumping right into broad jumps....literally.  Broad jumps can be very stressful on the lower body.  Make sure you have been working on box jumps, squat jumps or hurdle jumps before you get into any broad jump training.

Three Exercises to Help With Your Golf Game.....or Lack Thereof

Yeah, it's golf season.  I know it doesn't feel like it, but it is.  It's time to sneak away from the house early on a Sunday morning before the kids get up and spend a few hours in the great outdoors with your buddies.  The thing is that 3-5 hours on the golf course can be great or it can be absolutely miserable if your  golf game goes off the wagon.  So in order to spare your wife and kids the wrath of your golfing anger management issues I am going to give you three exercises that might help improve your game.  They are: quadruped extension / rotation, the bowler squat and medicine ball rotational throws.

So what is so special about these three exercises and how are they going to tie up some of the loose ends with your swing mechanics?   Let's take a look at each exercise.

Quadruped Extension/Rotation
One of the more common problems with the average weekend golfer is a poor shoulder turn because of a lack of thoracic mobility . Your backswing should start with a shoulder turn and continue all the way through to the top of your backswing allowing you to get a full turn.  The other thing with thoracic mobility is that it will allow you to create the "X-factor" which means your ability to separate your upper body from the lower body.  Not being able to separate the two will not only mess up your swing mechanics but will also rob you of power.  The important thing to consider when performing this exercise is to think about locking the hips in.  In order to do so I suggest sitting back towards your feet in order to lock those hips in.  Remember, you want to create separation between the lower and upper body.


Perform one set of 8-10 repetitions per side as part of your dynamic warm up.

Bowler Squat
The bowler squat is going to address two issues: hip stability and hip internal rotation.  Again, we want to create that "X-factor" in your swing.  You can not do that if you have poor hip stability.  From an internal hip rotation standpoint, if you have poor hip internal rotation this can lead to a sway, a slide or both during your swing.  A sway is excessive lower body movement away from the target during your backswing not allowing you to load that back leg.  A slide is just the opposite.  Excessive lower body movement towards the target during the downswing not allowing you to transfer energy to the upper body. Both cases are usually a product of lack of hip internal rotation and both cases will usually mess with the sequencing of your swing along with creating a loss of power.


Perform 8-10 repetitions on each leg as part of your dynamic warm up

Medicine Ball Rotational Throws
Medicine ball rotational throws are an exercise that will help you link up thoracic mobility, hip stability and hip internal rotation in a dynamic manner.  Also, medicine ball throws are a power exercise.  The ability to generate power is one of the first things to go as we age.  You may be strong in the gym, but are you able to generate that strength at a rapid rate?  I know that for a lot of us golf is not a power game.  Most are happy just to hit the ball straight down the fairway without any regards to how far they hit it.  I'm not one of them, because don't chicks dig the long ball?


Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10  throws to each side after your dynamic warm  and  prior to your strength training work.


Give these three exercise a shot and see if they do anything for your game.  If not....get back to the range.

Exercise of the Week: Kettlebell Deadlift

Fixing the Plank

Exercise of the Week: Prowler Shuttle

Another way to get some conditioning in with the Prowler on a short straight away is with Prowler shuttle runs.  Sprint 10-15 yards using the high handles and then immediately sprint back using the low handles.  Do this maybe 2-3 times as a set, rest for about 60 seconds and then repeat for the prescribed number of sets.

Or if you want to go a little "out of the box" you could use Prowler shuttle runs as a power exercise on a lower body day.  If using it as a power exercise only make one down and back trip as a set.  Rest for about 60 seconds and repeat for 4-6 sets.

Exercise of the Week: Prowler Push to Prowler Drag

I love Prowler pushes and drags for distance when it comes to conditioning.  The problem I have at my facility  though is that when I can not get outdoors with the Prowler I am pretty limited to what I can do with the Prowler since I do not have a long straight away.  I have only about 12-15 yards to use.  That's fine for some quick sprint work with the Prowler, but not great for pushes for distance.  The solution if I want to get some conditioning work done indoors with the Prowler?  Pushes to drags.  Push towards one end.  Drag back towards the other end.  Repeat 3-5 times for one set.  Take about a two minute rest and repeat until you feel your legs go numb.

 

Dear Mom,

It has only been about two months since you left us.   It doesn't feel that way.  It seems much longer than that.  I thought as time went on it would be easier to handle your passing.  It's not not getting easier.  It's getting harder.  I think about you a lot.  I miss you more and more each day and I know Dad, Kevin and Lauren feel the same way.  I sit around some nights expecting you to call.  When I head down to the house and you are not home I wait around and expect you to come in from work or one of your shopping trips.  When Dad walks into the house I expect you to follow right behind him.  There are things that I guess I used to take for granted that I miss.  I miss the kids calling you "Grammy".  When Lauren and Kevin Had their birthday's I missed your birthday songs.  Even though it used to drive me crazy how much you worried about me, I miss that now.

Since your passing happened so fast I never really had the time to thank you for everything you have done for me.  Maybe it was because I never thought you would leave us.  So, thank you.  Thank you for raising me to be the man I am today.  Where I have come to this point in my life would have never been possible without you.  Wherever I go to from here would not be possible without you.  Thank you for giving me a brother and sister that would turn out to be my best friends for life.  I know they thank you also for where they are today.  Thank you for sharing a life with Dad and building the family with him that we became.  I  know it wasn't easy.  There were a lot of difficult times.  But when those difficult times arose we got through it.  And we became stronger as a family.  Thank you for holding us together as a family and making sure we kept in contact with one another.    Thank you for giving us memories that we will never let go of.  I'll remember out trips to the Cape, your crazy Halloween outfits, packing our lunches with frozen juice boxes and being at every single one of our games.  The list of memories goes on and on.

There is an emptiness that exists in our lives right now and that emptiness is you.  As much as we try to fill the emptiness with memories of you, it is just not the same.  But I want you to know that we might be tighter than ever right now as a family.  We are taking care of Dad and he is taking care of us.  You were the one that always held us together and you still continue to do so.  I know there are going to be some rough days ahead, but I also know that you will be there looking over us so that we get through those rough days.  You were always there for us and will always be there for us.  We will always miss you.  We will always love you.  You are in our hearts and minds each day.

I love you Mom,

Rick

Exercise of the Week: Elevated BB Reverse Lunge w/Front Squat Grip

This might be one of the more challenging lunge variations that I'll use from time to time.  Working from the step increases the range of motion and will really get at your glutes.  And when you switch from a back squat grip to a front squat grip your upper back and core are going to kick in a little bit extra to provide some extra stabilization.

Coaching Tip: Fixing Your Step Up

Exercise of the Week: Side Plank w/Shoulder External Rotation

Exercise of the Week: Landmine Suitcase Deadlift

Exercise of the Week: Hurdle Jumps

Most people tend to think power training is only useful to athletes.  These same people usually also think that doing an Olympic lift such as a hang clean or snatch is the only way to train power.  These people would be wrong on both accounts.

The truth is that power is the first thing to go as we age.  And if we do not train it it is going to go even faster.  The other truth is that you do not need to be doing Olympic lifts to train for power.  Medicine ball throws, squat jumps and plyo push ups are just a few examples of power exercises.  We could even consider agility ladder training to be power training for some people.

Another reason to include power training as part of your workout is to ramp up the nervous system before a strength training workout.  A couple sets of med ball slams or box jumps could lead to better performance in your main strength exercises.

One more thing about power training is that there should be a progression to follow just as there would with other exercises.  For example a jump progression would be box jumps to squat jumps to what happens to be the exercise of the week, hurdle jumps.



The volume of jumps doesn't need to be high so I'll usually program two to four sets of 3-6 jumps

28 Tips to Being Lean in 2013

Knowing that a good number of people based their New Years resolutions around weight loss or fat loss, I threw up some fat loss tips on the Accelerated Fitness Facebook page.   For those of you who didn't see them or missed some of them, here they are wrapped up nice and neat for you....28 tips to being lean in 2013.

1. If you're setting a goal make it a behavior based goal not an outcome based goal. Behavior based goals are such things as getting in four hours of exercise a week, eliminating alcohol, getting 8 hours of sleep each night, etc.. Outcome based goals are such things as losing 10 pounds or dropping your body fat percentage.  
Behavior based goals will hopefully take you to your outcome based goal. Behaviors are ultimately under your control whereas outcomes may not be.
2. Now that you know the difference between a behavior based goal and an outcome based goal, you should only be setting one behavior based goal at a time. Set that behavior based goal and and comply to it for a two week period. If you are able to comply for two weeks then you can set another goal.  Set one goal at a time and you are going to have a greater chance of success. Set more than one goal at a time and your chances of success go down
3. For seven days keep a food log. Write down everything you ate and drank, whether it's a glass of water, a handful of nuts or jar full of M & M's. The food log is not going to be used to track your calories, but instead open your eyes to what you are actually eating and create a bit of accountability. Plus, numerous studies have shown that keeping a food log can result in weight loss.You can keep track on a blank piece of paper, use one of many apps on your smartphone or use a website such as Fitday.
4. Eliminate calorie containing beverages. That means dropping orange juice, soda and the big one that is going to make people unhappy...alcohol. I am not saying to give up alcohol forever, but how about for a four week period? If fat loss is important to you, you will do it. If it is not, keep drinking away.
5. So if you are eliminating calorie containing beverages, what should you be drinking? Water...lots of it. Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 150lbs aim to drink 75oz. of water throughout the day.
6. One way to hit that water intake number is to down a big glass of water as soon as you get out of bed. As far as the rest of your intake goes I would suggest purchasing some type of canteen and aiming to polish off a couple full containers each day.
7. Plan your workouts and nutrition for the upcoming week. What days are you going to workout? What are those workouts going to consist of? Do you have your "super foods" available? Do you know what you are going to eat tomorrow?   "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
8. Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep may be your best recovery tool, your best stress reliever and your best hormone regulator. If you are having trouble getting quality sleep in make sure you are: avoiding caffeine later in the day, creating a comfortable sleeping "environment", shutting down your electronic devices at least half an hour before you head to bed and the sooner you get to bed before midnight the better. It's been said that every hour of sleep before midnight equals two hours of sleep after midnight.
9. Supplement with 3-5 grams of fish oil each day. Make sure you are using a high quality fish oil supplement. How do you know it's high quality? At least 50% of the fish oil should be made of EPA and DHA. For instance, if you look at the bottle and each serving contains 1000mg of fish oil you want at least a combined total of 500mg from EPA and DHA.  In addition to fat loss fish oil can help with joint health, cognitive function and help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
10. Keep your vitamin D levels up. A large percentage of the population is vitamin D deficient. Being deficient in vitamin D has been associated with: decreased muscular strength, higher levels of body fat, decreased insulin sensitivity and lower levels of testosterone in men.  To keep your vitamin D levels up try to get 10-20 minutes of exposure to sunlight each day, supplement with vitamin D3 and eat vitamin D rich foods such as salmon and tuna.
11. Drink 2-3 cups of green tea a day. In addition to it's high anti-oxidant content and numerous health benefits, drinking green tea on a daily basis can help with fat loss.  Now is green tea going to help with fat loss on it's own? No. But it's one other component to add to your fat loss arsenal if your main fat loss principles are in order.
12. Lower inflammation. It's tough to lose body fat when your body is an inflammatory state. If your joints constantly ache, you have digestive stress or are getting sick on a frequent basis you are in an inflammatory state.  How do you lower inflammation? You can start by: eliminating grains, eliminating sugar, eliminating dairy, eat grass fed beef, supplementing with fish oil, getting more sleep and lowering your stress levels.
13. Include a protein source with each meal or snack. In addition to having a higher thermic effect than carbohydrates or fat, protein will help stabilize insulin levels and keep you satiated for a loner period of time.  Having protein each time you eat will also help bring up your daily protein intake which should be around 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of body weight.
14. Your carbs must be earned. On workout days you can have some starchy carbs with the majority of those starchy carbs coming in the post-workout window. On days you are not training you should be staying away from starchy carbs with carb intake coming from fruits and vegetables.
15. With each snack or meal make sure to add a vegetable source. Increasing your vegetable intake will help balance your blood PH which for most people is on the acidic side. Fat loss becomes harder when your blood PH is on that side.  You can also add in some fruit to help with this acid base balance, but try to limit your fruit intake to about two servings per day.
16. Check your adherence to your first behavior based goal. Have you been at least 80% compliant for two weeks? If you can say yes now is the time to set another behavior based goal. If you have not been 80% compliant keep working on that first behavior based goal.
17. Limit your exposure to plastic. Aside from effecting your overall health, chemicals from plastic can contribute to higher levels of estrogen and inhibit fat loss. Try to avoid drinking from plastic water bottles, storing food in plastic containers and especially microwaving your food in plastic containers.
18. Do not fear fat. Eating fat will not make you fat. All types of fats are an essential part of your diet: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Good sources of dietary fat are: nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, grass fed beef and free-range poultry and eggs.  Consuming dietary fat should not be a concern. Where you are getting your dietary fat from should be the concern.
19. Think more in terms of workout intensity than workout duration. In other words, replace your slow steady state cardio with some high intensity interval training. Fat loss is more about creating a a hormonal "disruption" than creating a caloric deficit.
20.  Include a good warm up before your strength training. It's tough to train for fat loss when you can't train for fat loss because you are hurt.  A good warm up would consist of some foam rolling, may be some static stretching for trouble areas and 5-8 dynamic flexibility or joint mobility exercises ( glute bridge variations, thoracic mobility exercises, wall slides, mini band walks, etc.)
21. Use supersets rather than straight sets. An example of a superset would be performing an upper body exercise, rest, then performing a lower body exercise, rest. Repeat in this fashion until the programmed number of sets for each exercise is completed. This method of training can induce higher levels of blood lactate and allow you to get more work done in a shorter period of time.  You could also perform push/pull supersets, tri sets (an example being lower/upper/core) or quad sets (an example being lower/upper/lower/upper) to get the same effect.
22. Your strength training should be just that, strength training. Focus on getting strong not trying to "tone up" or burn fat. Strength is the foundation of many qualities such as hypertrophy, power and yes, fat loss.  "Get strong to get lean" - Dan John
23. During your strength training session, keep your rest intervals between exercises in the 30-60 second range. Shorter rest intervals combined with moderate to high intensity strength exercises will result in higher blood lactate levels thereby promoting fat loss.You could also perform push/pull supersets, tri sets (an example being lower/upper/core) or quad sets (an example being lower/upper/lower/upper) to get the same effect.
24. Incorporate uni-lateral lower body training into your routine. Uni-lateral lower body exercises such as single leg squats, rear foot elevated split squats, step ups and walking lunges can be metabolically demanding, especially when done in the 10-15 rep range or with some additional load (dumbbells, kettlebells, weight vest, etc.).  Personally I hate step ups and rear foot elevated split squats. Why? Because I usually need to be hooked up to an oxygen mask after each set.
25. Stop jogging. Remember, fat loss training is more about the intensity of your training rather than the duration of your training. If anything jogging may be helping you hold onto body fat rather than burn body fat. Also, long duration steady state training can lead to higher cortisol levels which in turn can lead to holding into body fat in the umbilical area.  If you are currently jogging try to replace at least 1-2 of your jogging days with some high intensity interval training or a body weight circuit.
26. Can the crunches. Crunches will do nothing for you from a fat loss perspective....until you do 250,000 of them. That's the number of crunches it would take you to burn one pound of body fat. Remember, fat loss is a result of your overall training and nutrition.
27. Simplify. Simplify your training. Simplify your nutrition. The truth is very few of us could be placed in the "advanced" category therefore not requiring complicated training programs or nutrition protocols. Most of us would be better off if we just applied simple concepts on a more consistent basis.  Eat more vegetables on a daily basis. Eliminate processed food on a daily basis. Get 3-5 hours of exercise in on a weekly basis. You get the idea.
28. Fat loss is a lifestyle. It's not just your training. It's not just your nutrition. It's not about one supplement. It's not about what you're doing some of the time. It's about what you are doing all the time. It's about what you are doing on a daily basis. It's the sum of of your training, your nutrition, your recovery, your supplementation, your stress management, your sleep cycle, etc. The list goes on and on.

Want more info like this?  Go to the Accelerated Fitness Facebook page where you will get everything from fat loss tips, to exercise videos to links to other articles.

Exercise of the Week: Half Kneeling Landmine Twist

I've shown a few different Landmine exercises recently, but what I haven't done is explain to you what exactly the Landmine is.  The Landmine is a piece of equipment that can be used for rotary or single limb training.  Here's a picture:

It's a nice piece of equipment that will run you close to $300.  If you don't feel like shelling out $300 for this bad boy you have another alternative where you can just about do the same exercises as you can with the Landmine.  The solution?  Wedge one end of a barbell in a corner.  A pretty simple and cost free alternative, right?

Now that we know what the Landmine is here's another exercise that can be used, the Half Kneeling Landmine Twist.  As with other core exercises I like to use a from the ground up progression meaning the first progression is in a tall kneeling or half kneeling position.  From there we will move to a standing position. Then from the standing position you can move to a split stance or single leg stance. Here in the half kneeling position the focus should be on two things: contracting the glute on the downside leg and keeping the knee of the upside leg straight ahead the whole time.  Doing these two things will re-enforce hip stability as the core is trained through a rotational pattern.  Take a look:

Exercise of the Week: Single Leg Trap Bar Deadlift

Exercise of the Week: Val Slide Plank Roll Out

Here is another rollout variation to add to your core training exercise library.  You can file it under the anti-extension category.  All you are going to do is get into a plank position with your forearms resting on a pair of Val Slides.  From this plank position you are going to slide your forearms out in front while trying to maintain that neutral spine position you started with. Widen your feet a bit if you are feeling a bit unstable or bring your feet right next to each other to increase the difficulty of this exercise.