Metabolic Resistance Training and Total Body Workouts

Bodyweight Cardio Fat Burning Workouts

Short Rest Intervals and Supersets Increase Calorie Burning and Fat Loss

Science is proving what some of us in the fitness industry have been practicing for some time now. In simple terms, intensity in a workout makes a big difference on fat loss and calorie burning. Yes it’s true, hard work pays off when it comes to your physique.

If you’ve been training to full capacity, you don’t need a scientific experiment to convince you of this fact because you’ve likely seen the proof in the mirror. Recent scientific studies have proved that working larger muscle groups and resting for shorter durations between sets, increases both energy expenditure and excess post exercise oxygen consumption. This leads to greater fat burning potential and calorie usage.

How Supersets Increase Caloric Expenditure and Fat Burning

We already know that the intensity level of our workout has a huge impact on how many calories we burn. Hardcore workouts promote calorie and fat burning potential. If you think about it, what’s more intense? A set of deadlifts followed immediately by dips, or a set of concentration curls followed by two minutes of texting on the bench? Not only are the concentration curls less intense, they’re also boring. They don’t require anywhere near the same amount of energy as the superset, meaning they burn nowhere near as many calories.

Studies have shown that when compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, bench press, rows, pull ups etc are paired with another compound or even perhaps an isolation exercise, our energy expenditure and oxygen consumption increase which results in greater excess post exercise oxygen consumption. It is this combination of factors that greatly affect calorie burning potential.

How Shorter Rest Intervals Increase Fat Burning

Whether it’s high intensity interval training, circuit training or strength training with resistance, shortening rest times between sets and exercises can have a huge impact on fat burning.

In a recent study performed by two separate Brazilian universities, decreased rest intervals were shown to have significant effects on energy expenditure, oxygen consumption and EPOC. Rest intervals of 1 and 3 minutes were used on the subjects consisting of 10 healthy men performing both the leg press and chest fly. Both exercises were done for 5 sets of 10 reps with a maximum load of 15 reps. Oxygen uptake was measured at rest, during sets and for the first 90 minutes following the workout. The one-minute rest interval produced higher oxygen uptake and energy expenditure levels than that of the 3-minute rest interval primarily with the leg press. This tells us that large muscle groups, combined with shorter rest intervals offer the most potential for calorie and fat burning both during and following a workout.

Abdominal Fat and Intermittent High Intensity Exercise

The University of New South Wales, Australia, recently published a review stating that high intensity intermittent exercise, (HIIE) may be responsible for improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness, lowering insulin resistance and promoting fat oxidization. Perhaps the most promising of findings is that HIIE also appears to be more effective at reducing abdominal fat over any other type of exercise.

If you consider the intensity of large muscle group supersets, paired with short rest intervals you can certainly imagine how this type of workout falls into the HIIE category. Imagine Bulgarian split squats in combination with explosive push ups or deadlifts paired with push presses. Large muscles groups are called into action, the heart rate dramatically increases and oxygen is limited. All of these factors lead to increased energy expenditure, oxygen debt and EPOC.

Numerous Studies Continue to Prove Theory

A number of experiments have been performed over the years that all seem to suggest a modest to significant increase in EPOC levels, fat oxidization and energy expenditure during and following workouts that combine supersets with short rest intervals.

In addition to the review described above, The University of New South Wales, Australia, also conducted a study on the effects of HIIE training. Over the course of 15 weeks, 45 women were compared after being separated into 3 groups. 15 were prescribed the HIIE program, 15 were given steady state cardiovascular workouts and the remaining 15 were placed in the control group. At the end of the 15 weeks, only the HIIE group showed a reduction in total body fat, abdominal fat and insulin levels. Interestingly enough, there was a significant amount of fat reduction in the abdomen and legs, which is promising considering these are most often trouble spots for women. Another point goes to high intensity resistance training over steady state cardio.

Another experiment performed at the University of Kurdistan, Iran tested the effects of resistance training and varying rest periods on 10 physically fit men. The chosen exercises were squats and bench press performed to failure with an 85% repetition max. Varying rest intervals of 60 seconds, 90 seconds and 120 seconds were sporadically given between the 4 sets of each exercise. Blood draws were done previous to, during and 30 minutes following the workout to measure levels of growth hormone and testosterone. The findings suggested that the shortest rest intervals of 60 seconds elicited the greatest rise in growth hormone. Increased growth hormone levels promote fatty acid oxidization and may maintain the usage of fat for prolonged periods of time following the workout.

Conclusion

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Click Here for these 3 Bodyweight Exercise Manuals

Time and again, we are shown in many ways that intensity and effort count. Hanging out on the bench, staring at the clock for a timed 2 to 3 minutes is ineffective if your goal is to lose fat. You need to be up and at ‘em before your heart rate has come down and your muscles have lost the burn. Increasing the effort and challenging your body is the only way to really burn fat and improve the health of your heart and shape of the muscles. While specific spot reducing may technically be impossible, the closest you’ll get is through training with sheer intensity. Take a break from the typical 8 to 12 reps with 2 minutes rest and put yourself to the test with supersets and short recovery intervals.

Posted by admin - October 31, 2011 at 3:04 pm

Categories: Bodyweight Exercise Programs   Tags: , , , ,

Six Pack Abs Workout

Love handles, spare tire, the muffin top. Call it what you will, it is the bane of our existence. Abdominal fat affects us all, men and women alike. That unappealing layer, or layers in some cases of stubborn fat that hangs over our waistbands is undoubtedly the biggest complaint within the fitness industry. So why is it so hard to get rid of? It turns out; most people are going about it the wrong way. A little bit of education and a plan of action will take care of that jiggle in middle once and for all.

Nutrition is Crucial

The answer to belly baring pride will not be found in the purchase of the latest infomercial ab-busting gimmick. You’ll never roll your way to a sexy midsection. The biggest contributor to a lean tummy is diet.

We all have abdominal muscles. Even if you have never done one sit up in your entire life, I guarantee you do have abs. The problem is that most of us have varying amounts of fat covering up those muscles. Obviously, the thicker that layer of fat is, the harder it becomes to see the existing six-pack. While exercises designed to target the core will certainly help build those specific muscles, the more important factor is that excess fat is lost to reveal them. That comes down to diet.

Calorie Control and Real Food

So what does an abs friendly diet consist of? Well, no surprise here. Of course calorie control tops the list of importance. Daily caloric intake will need to be within a range conducive to weight loss, specific to your body type and energy level. You will also want to keep a clean diet, void of processed foods and refined sugars. Fake foods and so-called foodstuffs significantly raise insulin levels, creating the perfect recipe for fat storage. Focus on lean proteins, healthy fats full of Omega 3’s, complex carbs and lots of green leafy veggies.

Eat Often

This does not mean you need to plan 6 full meals a day. What it does mean is that you need to keep your body and that tummy satiated and energized all day long. Three meals and two snacks per day is usually more than adequate in keeping blood sugar levels stable and bellies happy, assuming of course that the meal and snack choices are appropriate.

Drink up

Nothing hides a hard earned, flat tummy faster than bloat. Make sure you are drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day to keep your system regular and avoid a bloated belly. Eight glasses is the standard not including the water you drink immediately before, during and after your workout. If you’re a coffee drinker, you’ll need more as well since caffeine dehydrates the body.

Gut Busting Workouts

Score another point for interval training. Study after study has proven that interval training is by far the best form of cardio for many reasons, including targeting abdominal fat.

First of all, interval cardio, when performed properly, burns an immense amount of calories both during the workout and following. Due to the oxygen debt created, your body is burning fat and calories for many hours after the workout is over. HIIT also ignites numerous hormonal changes affecting growth hormone, testosterone and insulin levels in positive, fat loss promoting ways.

A number of studies have been performed on obese participants over the past few years in regards to the effect high intensity interval training has on fat loss, particularly abdominal fat. The findings have all been very positive. HIIT is known to target more abdominal fat than steady state cardio. Even more promising is the fact that it also reduces visceral fat, the kind of fat that surrounds internal organs. Excess visceral fat can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

The bottom line is that performing high intensity interval training efficiently and regularly will dramatically improve the appearance of your waistline and the health of your heart.

Top 5 Ab Blasting Exercises

While you’re trying to shed the fat responsible for disguising that ripped six-pack, there are many great exercises you can do to shape and strengthen the muscles. As the fat melts and the muscles are tightened and sculpted you will see a dramatic improvement in both the reflection in the mirror and the way your belt fits.

Side Planks

This exercise is similar to the standard plank but requires more recruitment of the obliques. Lying on your side on a mat, bridge your hips up so that you are supporting your weight on your forearm. Make sure your back is straight and that the hips don’t sag. Keep the core completely engaged throughout the exercise and hold for as long as possible, while breathing normally. Repeat on the opposite side.

Cross Body Mountain Climber

The cross body mountain climber is similar to a standard mountain climber exercise but with an added rotation on both sides. Instead of bringing the knees straight in towards the chest, you will rotate and bring them up to the opposite elbow. This exercise can be made more intense simply by increasing the speed and range of motion.

Toe Touch Plank

Beginning in the push up position, with the back straight and core engaged, rotate your body to the right, bringing the right hand off the ground. Simultaneously bring the left foot off the floor and while rotating, touch the right hand to the left toe underneath your body. Repeat on the opposite side. This exercise can be made more difficult by increasing the range of rotation.

Stability Ball Step Offs

This is a tough one. Begin this exercise in the push up position with the toes supported on a stability ball. Slowly bring one leg off the ball while holding the body solid and the leg straight. Touch the toes to the floor as far out from the ball as possible and return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side for as many reps as possible. Increase the difficulty with greater range of motion, more reps or by adding a push up as you extend the leg, if you’re really strong.

The Walk Out

Again, starting in the push up position, with hands directly underneath shoulders, walk each hand out alternately in small steps. Once you reach the point where you are about to fall flat, extend one arm out in front of you, return and repeat with the other. Walk the hands back to the starting position and repeat. Be sure to keep the core and the glutes tight and engaged. The hips must not drop and lower back must not sag. This exercise can be made more difficult by holding light dumbbells.

Circuits

six pack abs 6If you really want to challenge yourself, incorporate all, or some of the above exercises into a circuit. You’ll be surprised just how much your heart rate will jump and you’ll reap the benefits of a cardio workout while you transform that soon to be six-pack.

Posted by admin - October 27, 2011 at 2:07 pm

Categories: Six Pack Abs   Tags: , , , ,

The “Braveheart” Bodyweight Program

Oh dear, do I have a solid bodyweight exercise program for you. I’m more excited about the name of it though. There’s a funny story of how I came up with the name “Braveheart”. I’ve had my client Judy now for almost 5 years. She’s in her sixties, but she can run circles around many chicks in their twenties. Is that politically correct to say? I certainly hope not. That’s just how I roll.

Anyway, I see her twice a week and she is up for any challenge. We typically do one strength training workout and one metabolic workout each week, but even that changes. She loves using bodyweight exercises, but she’s not afraid to lift heavy either. We even do supersets of heavy resistance training supersetted with bodyweight exercises, like 6 reps of the reverse grip lat pulldown followed by push-ups. She can do burpees in her sleep. Why would anyone do burpees in their sleep? I don’t know really, so does the above statement now seem kinda’ silly now? Well, sure. But do I care? Well, no. Do I answer my own questions? Absolutely.

Can Bodyweight Exercises and Heavy Resistance Training Improve Daily Activities Like Running? Hhhmmm, Read the Paragraph Under this Really Long Subtitle and Find Out

Judy is a very avid runner. She loves running and that is her “off day” activity. As a matter of fact, she admits that ever since she started using bodyweight moves and lifting heavy, her running has become easier and she runs more efficiently. I’m really proud of her being in such great shape and setting an example for others to follow. Did I mention she is in her sixties? I’m pretty sure I did. Looky there, now I did twice. It just proves that it’s never too late to start.

As Judy and I were finishing one of our sessions, she was laughing at the names of the metabolic finishers I come up with. She then told me it would be cool if I were to come up with a bodyweight exercise routine and named it something different. That’s when I said, “like Braveheart?” She thought it was brilliant. Alas, the “Braveheart” bodyweight exercise routine name was born. And you know what?… you’re going to rock it.

How this Bodyweight Program Works

First of all, brace yourself. This is one is a doozie, doozy, douzie. Spell check, you annoy me. I guess doozy is slang. I suggest you grab your tunes and put on some cool 90’s hip-hop, or the Sanford and Son theme song… whatever motivates you. You’re going to hit the ground running with this program. This is the kind of program where you may find yourself praying in the middle of it. Your heart will be thumping with anger, your veins will present themselves as road maps, and sweat will trickle down as if your body is crying. Nike, do you see this? Call me. Onward to the program…

Although this is a bodyweight program, you will need a few things. You’ll need a chin-up/pull-up bar, stability ball, ab wheel (optional) and some blue face paint (optional as well).

“Braveheart”
(because you can never take away my freedom…. OK, too much)

Do the following circuit one time, resting only when needed. Form takes precedence! When form starts to break down, you MUST stop and rest. You can break the exercises into smaller “sets”. For example, you could do 5 pull-ups, rest, and then continue in that fashion until you complete 20 reps. But you must complete all reps before moving onto the next exercise. Record the time it takes you to complete the circuit. The next time you perform this circuit, try to beat your previous time. Exercises 8-10 are chaotic. Enjoy… or something like that.

1) Bulgarian Squat Jumps (20 ea leg)
2) Pull-ups (20)
3) Close-Grip Push-ups (40)
4) Ab Wheel or Stability Ball Rollout (25)
5) Jumping Jacks (100)
6) Alternating Prisoner Cross-Over Lunge (25 ea leg)
7) Cross-Body Mountain Climbers (20 ea)
8} Burpee Chin-up Combo (10)
9) Decline Spiderman Push-ups (10 ea side)
10) Burpee Chin-up Combo (10) (Yes, I typed that on purpose)
11) Stability Ball Jackknife (30)
12) Swing Lunge (15 ea)

Good times? No? Awesome.

One quick tip to help you out – don’t train to failure on the exercises. For example, if you’re performing the close-grip push-ups and you typically go to failure at rep 25, just go to 20 reps and then rest for a little bit. You’ll find that it is easier to pace yourself this way.

Now one of the things on my bucket list is when you google “ridiculous bodyweight exercise programs”, this program pops up as number one. It would give me goose bumps.

Bodyweight Exercises are Better than Cardio

You could hop on the treadmill for 6 hours and do some endless cardio, or you can knock this workout out of the ball park and the caloric afterburn would last about 14 years (I may be over-estimating, but trust me, the afterburn will last for a long time). And unlike cardio, bodyweight programs like these will improve your conditioning and sculpt your body. Hours of cardio won’t do that.

Boom goes the bodyweight, improved conditioning, fat-burning dynamite.

You’re going to be sore the next day, no doubt about it. As a matter of fact, if you’re not, you may want to see a doctor or someone from NASA because congratulations, you’re an alien. Aliens are getting more and more popular on TV, too. Seriously, as a recovery strategy, try some light activity the next day like some walking. You can also use a foam roller along with some stretching.

I would only perform this workout once a week. So each week, see how much you can improve your time, while burning belly fat.

metabolic finishers

Click here for Mike Whitfields gut busting Workout Finishers

Finish Strong,
Mike Whitfield
Certified Turbulence Trainer

Posted by admin - October 26, 2011 at 2:58 pm

Categories: Bodyweight Exercise Programs   Tags: , , , ,

Internet Social Support for Weight Loss

If you are trying to lose fat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, then you might be missing out on one important factor – social support. It’s really important for weight loss.

Anyone that’s every tried to lose any amount of weight, will tell you it’s difficult. Whether you are trying to achieve a weight loss of 5 pounds or 105 pounds, it’s challenging and often frustrating. So why is it so difficult when there are countless diets, weight loss organizations, never ending advice from all kinds of sources and numerous methods that we can put into action? The answer may lie in a lack of social support.

Why is it so Hard to Lose Weight?

If you think about it, food is involved in every aspect of our lives. First of all, we need nutrition to survive and grow. Aside from it being required to sustain life, food is a part of celebration, connecting with others, comfort and joy. The fact that it’s somehow a part of everything we do and that marketing geniuses have us trapped within its spell can make anyone frustrated and lost. Taking advantage of any of the tools available to you and the people around you will help to keep you on track.

Studies That Show Web Based Weight Loss Works

Recent research performed by the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia suggests that web based weight loss programs work.

The study included predominantly obese women with an average age of 35. Some were placed on a 12-week plan and some were on a 52-week program, both web based. The average weight loss for the 12-week group was 6.2 percent while the 52-week program saw an average loss of 6.9 percent. Furthermore, the more frequently tools such as daily food and exercise logs were used, the more successful the participants were with their weight loss.

Supportive Family and Friends Carry Weight

A research study performed by Stanford University has discovered just how powerful real life support can be. Friends and family can be very helpful in cheering you along throughout your weight loss journey.

The experiment showed that obese women that never received any support from friends or family members were far less likely to lose weight than those that did enjoy support from loved ones. Without support only 45.7 percent of the women studied lost weight, compared to 71.6 percent of the supported participants.

The good news is that this may transfer over to weight loss groups as well. The support that is lacking from friends and family may be compensated by peers within a weight loss group whether in person or online

How Online Support Can Help

Helpful Tools

Calorie counters, recipes, snack and meal ideas, progress charts and information articles are just a few of things that are easily accessible and help keep you on track. Perhaps some of the most helpful tools available are the forums that offer all kinds of support, advice and tips from others just like you. You can find all kinds of people on these forums that are fighting the same battle and coming across the same hurdles. Discussing these challenges and hearing others solutions can be a great resource.

Personal trainers have long known the value of planning and logging your daily nutrition. When meals and snacks are planned and mapped out in detail, people are far more successful. This tactic leaves no room for error, as you are always prepared. The web based weight loss system makes this process as simple as can be with daily journals that can be updated and planned for days in advance. Most of them will count calories, fat, protein and carbs for you so there’s no adding or computing anything. You just type and go.

The progress charts will also help keep you on track by showing you exactly where you’re at, week by week and easily keeping track of where you went wrong and where you went right. It’s very motivating to see progress going in the right direction not only in the mirror in front of you but also on the computer screen in front of you.

Support at Your Fingertips

There are many online weight loss information and support groups that offer a number of very helpful tools. Having these resources right at your fingertips makes things so convenient and really takes some of the potential excuses out of the question. You can find support on your home computer, while you’re at work, or even utilize apps on your phone. Trying to lose weight is one of life’s most difficult tasks, so the easier you can make it on your hectic schedule, the better equipped you’ll be.

Anonymity

At traditional weight loss meetings, you are forced to do an in person weigh in. While your weight isn’t always posted for others to see, you still have to show up in person and spend an hour or so discussing your progress. If you’ve had a bad week, this can be intimidating. This is how an online group can be advantageous. You never have to appear in person so it takes the intimidation factor out of the equation.

Positive Challenges

Competition can be a good thing and can be very helpful when it comes to weight loss, as long as the competition is positive. An online group can be a great resource for positive feedback, competition and challenges. Feeding off the success of others and trying to keep up may just help you break past a plateau, or give you the extra encouragement you need to get to the gym.

More Sources, More Success

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Drawing upon all the potential resources you can think of, can dramatically improve your weight loss success. Changing your lifestyle is difficult and can be frustrating, but with the support you will receive from friends, family, online support sites and web based weight loss groups, will make your journey an exciting, positive challenge.

Posted by admin - October 25, 2011 at 1:44 pm

Categories: Healthy Weight Loss   Tags: , ,

Hill Sprint Interval Training

Let’s talk about using Hill Sprints as our fat burning interval training workout.

I would recommend a specific warm up set or two where you’re doing 50% or 75% rather than going full on into your first interval. SO let’s imagine that I have done my bodyweight warm-up at a 50% interval and then a 75% interval, and now I am going to tackle this hill.

The great thing about the “Hill Sprints” is that it reduces the length of your stride. So when you are running flat, and you extend out that’s where people have problems with their hamstring causing injuries. But this way of training shortens your stride, and less impact with every step compared to flat running, and it’s hard.  Hopefully, you can find a hill that can challenge you for 20, 30 even 45 seconds.

One thing I would like to mention is don’t get too worried about having to sprint for 30 and recover for 60 and it takes you longer to walk down the hill. Don’t worry about it too much.

It’s great in theory, and I will talk about “in theory the best interval training is” but don’t be too worried about losing some of the amazing fat-burning benefits you get from interval training just because your hill takes a little bit to recover from.

Ok, start fairly close to the incline so you don’t have that overstraining problem causing hamstring injury.  Once I am ready I am going to take on that hill by running up it and then walking down the hill.

It will take two or three time longer to walk down the hill. If you’re going for FAT LOSS  alone, then turn around and go right back up to continue this for 6,8 or 10 intervals depending on how long it takes you to run up the  hill, your fitness level  and goals.

If you haven’t ran hill sprints in a long time, or you’re doing them for the first time, start off with doing only 4-5 sprints and see how the body responds the next couple of days.  You can then progress from there.

After the first hill sprint session, you can add 1 or 2 rounds the next time you run them if you are recovering fine and that is how you can progress.  For example, in your first week, you would do hill sprints twice a week and you would do 4-5 sprints.  The following week, you could start doing 6-8 hill sprints twice a week.  If you’re still recovering fine, then you could progress to doing them 3 times a week.

Even if you find yourself in top shape, you shouldn’t perform hill sprints more than 4 times a week.  You certainly want to challenge yourself, but doing too much too fast can also lead to injuries as well.

A cool way to watch your progress is to bring a stopwatch or a gymboss to your hill sprints sessions.  You can time yourself and see how long it takes you to do a certain amount of hill sprints.  For example, let’s say you do 10 hill sprints on Monday, and it took you 13:25.  Then next week, on Monday, you would perform 10 hill sprints and aim to knock them out in less time.  It’s really cool to see yourself improving each week.  You just need to make sure you know how far up the hill you went so you can get accurate results on your progress.

Another way to challenge yourself and burn fat with hill sprints is to mark how far up the hill you go.  Then the following week, try to go a little further (another 10 yards is just an example).

You can time yourself of how long it takes you to do a certain number of hill sprints up to a certain point, and then record it.  Then next week, try to go a little further on each hill sprint, but in the same amount of time.  For example, you could go 30 yards 8 times.  Then next week, try to go 35 yards 8 times in the same amount of time.  You can make up the difference in the hill sprints, recovery time, or even both.

When you first start doing hill sprints, you will probably find yourself doing the last few sprints much slower then your first couple of hill sprints.  That’s perfectly fine and that is actually normal.  As you get more conditioned, you will find those times getting closer to each other.

Some tips to get better at hill sprints:

  • Try not to let the arms cross your body and focus on keeping your arms just going forward and back (not across), with a 90 degree bend
  • Keep the shoulders back, while keeping the chest up.  One of the tendencies is to tense up your shoulders.  Try to avoid doing that.
  • Keep what’s called an “open hand” stance when doing hill sprints.  In other words, don’t clench your fists but keep your hands open
  • Never, EVER give up

interval training workouts

Burn fat with hill sprints and never, EVER give up.
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Posted by admin - October 20, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Categories: Interval Training   Tags: , , , ,

Bootcamp Exercise Routines

A bootcamp workout offers a fun, motivating and challenging environment. Feeding off of others is a great way to stay inspired through the workout and passes the time like nothing else. Testing your ability and progress against the other participants can turn even the least ambitious person into a fierce competitor.

Boot Camp Exercise Programs

Being creative with your design and implementation of bootcamp exercises will set your program ahead of the rest and keep your clients coming back for more while greatly increasing class size.

Bootcamp exercises are incredibly versatile and limitless. Not only are there hundreds of different exercises, there are almost as many modifications and variations of them. Workouts can incorporate strictly body weight exercises or include a variety of equipment such as bands, ropes, ladders, kettlebells and medicine balls.

Beach Boot Camp Workouts

Sand creates a lot of resistance. If you’ve ever tried to jog on the beach, you know how much more difficult it is than on pavement. There are often benches, logs and trees surrounding a public beach that can be great tools to use. Try a circuit of exercises consisting of bench step ups, decline or incline push ups on a log, pull ups from a tree branch, bench jumps, sand sprints, burpees in the sand, mountain climbers, planks, squat jumps, pistol squats, T push ups, glute bridges on the bench, spidermans in the sand, or anything else your imagination can come up with. You’ve just put your clients through a butt-kicking workout without so much as a single 5-pound dumbbell.

Boot Camp Exercises at the Park

Your local park or playground creates the perfect environment for a fun, effective workout. Not only do the monkey bars and swing sets make valuable equipment, the atmosphere is reminiscent of everyone’s childhood and can easily take the ‘work’ out of the workout for your clients. It’s amazing how even the most serious of adults are able to let go and have a good time when they find themselves back in a playground.

The combinations of exercises that can be incorporated into a workout at the playground are immense. Monkey bars are great for pull ups, chin ups and hanging leg raises. The swing set can act as substitute equipment for any of your favourite TRX exercises such as the pike up, leg curl or knee in. Use available ropes, ladders and poles for climbing. By setting up a circuit with enough exercises to accommodate all participants, you’ll create and easy, organized way of transitioning through the workout.

In addition to utilizing the actual playground itself, take advantage of the other existing surroundings. If there’s a flight of stairs, a hill, benches or a track in the same area you can break up your circuit with cardio drills like hill sprints or double time stair runs.

Bootcamps on the Track

Bootcamps at the track set your group up perfectly for high intensity interval sprints. Alternating a strength and cardio circuit with a 100 yard sprint thrown in will allow every participant to get the most out the workout while going at their own pace. The inside or grassy middle of the track also makes for a great place to incorporate sports type drills and agility exercises like the star drill, weave drill, side shuffle and the like. Or you can set up cones as markers on the track and have everyone do walking lunges to the cone and sprint back, or frog jumps to the cone and bunny hops back. Your imagination as a trainer is your greatest asset.

Most tracks offer stadium type seating, which is great tool as well. Use the bench type stairs for Bulgarian split squats, lateral step ups, bench jumps, decline push ups and dips.

Indoor Boot Camp Workouts

Depending on which part of the world you will be offering your bootcamp in; you will likely need an indoor option for at least part of the year. A little rain never hurt anyone, but nobody likes working out in hail, freezing temperatures or windstorms. Even if you are stuck in a big empty room with absolutely not a piece of equipment in sight you can still offer a challenging workout to anyone and everyone.

Bodyweight exercises like burpees, squat jumps, explosive split squats, mountain climbers, sprints, speed skater lunges and long jumps will test anyone’s muscular endurance and cardio capacity. Alternating these with push ups, one leg dips and glute bridges, core work like crunches, planks, T stab push ups and bicycles will strengthen and stabilize the muscles while improving balance and co ordination.

An indoor environment, if large enough, is another great place for adding drills or competition to your workout. Start a push up contest, relay races, long jump competition or drills like the ones you offer outside to increase the challenge.

Partners During Boot Camp

Pairing clients up into partners can be a lot of fun, although you’ll want to wait to get a good read on your particular group before trying this. Some people love it, but others find it intimidating and uncomfortable. If you do decide to add some partner exercises you can try mirroring exercises like lunges, squats and split squat jumps. Rows can be done with a partner’s bodyweight. A partner plank hand clap, medicine ball toss (if you choose to use equipment) and relay type drills work well also.

Using equipment

Any portable equipment you use in the gym can be added to your bootcamps if you decide to do so. Use bands for speed rows, close or wide grip pull downs, squats with a press, crossovers and more. Medicine balls are great for woodchops, overhead lunges, crunches and passes if you choose to work in partners. Kettlebells can be used for swings, Turkish get ups and snatches. Ten or twenty five-pound plates can be used for swings, woodchops or walking lunges. Skipping ropes are a great tool and very inexpensive.

boot camp workout routines

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If you’re on a tight budget, five-gallon water jugs, large tires and chains are an inexpensive and effective way to go. The water jugs can be used for squats, deadlifts or a water jug carry from cone to cone. Tires can be jumped through in cardio drills or attached to chains and dragged, or as a tire flip exercise, depending on the size.

These are just a few examples of how you can use equipment in your programs but obviously there are many more options as well.

Posted by admin - October 19, 2011 at 12:58 pm

Categories: Boot Camp Workouts   Tags: , , , ,

Omega 3’s: Why You Need to Use Them

While eliminating trans fats and cutting back on saturated is a great way to improve heart health and cut calories, our bodies still require certain fats in order to function optimally. The consumption of sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids is imperative to our well being. The healthy fatty acids that are found in cold water fish, flax seeds, leafy greens and a number of other food sources offer many valuable health benefits.

Brain function

The human brain and central nervous system are made up of DHA which is one of the fatty acids found in Omega 3’s. Ensuring adequate DHA consumption through the diet is crucial to brain development and the function of the central nervous system, which is responsible for every process and function of our bodies. A deficiency in DHA can result in a decline in cognitive function, nuerotransmitter upset, poor memory and many other undesireable outcomes.

Inflammation

The Omega 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA have been shown to reduce inflammation. Inflammation in the body contributes to numerous ailments and autoimmune diseases such as depression, cancer, Chrons disease, lupus and coronary heart disease just to name a few. Many patients requiring medication to control a number of inflammation related diseases have seen an improvement in symptoms simply by supplementing their diets with fish and krill oil.

Cardiovascular health

Omega 3 fats are considered to be extremely beneficial to heart and cardiovascular health by helping to lower triglycerides, reduce blood clots and lower blood pressure. They can also reduce the risk of heart rythym abnormalities which means fewer occurances of sudden cardiac death. Due to the positive effect these fats have on the cardiovascular system and brain health, they may help to significantly reduce the risk of not only heart attacks, but strokes as well.

Depression

A strong correlation has been discovered between fish oil consumption and a reduction in the symptoms of depression, bi polar disorder and post partum depression. The Omega 3 fats EPA and DHA may have an effect on neurotransmitters, acting in a similar way to some medications. Although more research needs to be done on this, so far the findings are positive. Some people have found a marked improvement in symptoms with a combination of fish or krill oil supplements and regular exercise.

Fat loss

In recent years there have been numerous studies done on the effects of Omega 3’s and weight loss. Although it may seem detrimental to fight fat with fat, the subjects of varying studies have been shown to experience a very modest increase in fat loss than those that took part in the placebo group. While the jury is still out on how exactly omega 3 fats aid in fat loss, it certainly can’t hurt to try it. There are so many other exceptional benefits of supplementing Omega 3 fatty acids that improved body composition is simply a bonus.

How to make sure you’re getting your share

Omega 3 fats are found in fish, plant and nut oils. DHA and EPA are the 2 most beneficial components of Omega 3 fats. ALA, which is found mainly in the plant and nut, based sources, although a healthy option needs to be converted by the body into DHA and EPA. This process does not always occur very efficiently so it is best to consume the majority of Omega 3’s through sea life. Krill oil is one of the best sources of DHA and EPA available. Krill are crustaceans, similar to shrimp and are also full of antioxidants. Fish oil such as salmon, sardine, halibut and tuna are also exceptional choices. Krill and fish oil are available in capsule form, making it very simple to ensure the daily requirement is met.

For vegans and vegetarians, plant and nut based oils like that found in flax seeds, walnuts and leafy greens are good options, although they will have to be converted into the EPA and DHA fats.

fish oil factsSo far there seem to be almost unlimited positive health benefits to making Omega 3’s part of your daily diet. Since a supplement is easy and convenient to take, everyone can reap the rewards of this heart healthy, fat burning, disease fighting, mood boosting super nutrient.

Posted by admin - October 18, 2011 at 2:25 pm

Categories: Healthy Supplements   Tags: , ,

Why Krill Oil is a Great Way to Get Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega 3 fatty acids offer numerous benefits such as maintaining the health of our brains, cardiovascular systems and other organs, as well as reducing symptoms of depression, PMS, arthritis and improving cholesterol levels. The list doesn’t end there, which is why everyone should be supplenting their diets with Omega 3 fats, especially EPA and DHA.

EPA and DHA are 2 of the fatty acids, along with ALA, found in cold water fish, seafood and plant based sea life. For the sake of convenience and purity, these fats are available in condensed oil form and can be taken by the spoonful or capsule. While fish oil has long been the gold standard of Omega 3 supplements, Krill oil is emerging as possibly a more desireable option.

Krill are tiny, shrimp like crustaceans that survive on the bottom of the food chain, serving as sustenance for most other marine life, predominantly in the North Pacific and Antarctic oceans. Krill oil contains both DHA and EPA, although in a slightly different format than that of fish oil. Along with this difference in form, krill oil offers a number of other advantages as well.

Phospholipids and Absorbability

The EPA and DHA found in krill oil is structured in phospholipid form, just like the cells in our bodies and brains. This makes it much easier for the body to absorb and utilize these fats, making better, more efficient use of your supplement.

Antioxidants

Along with the vitamins A, D and E, krill oil contains the super antioxidant astaxanthin. Astaxanthin offers a wide range of benefits to the body including protection from UV light and sun damage. It also has the ability to cross the blood brain barrier, making it available to the brain and central nervous system, offering potential protection from degenerative diseases such as alzheimers.

Purity

Krill oil may be the cleanest, most pure form of Omega 3 fats available. The majority of krill is harvested in the Antarctic and North Pacific oceans, which are considered to be the least polluted bodies of water. Less pollution in the water equals less pollution in the sea life. Since krill are at the bottom of the food chain, they have a short lifespan and are often consumed by bigger fish a short time after their life begins. This allows less time for them to absorb pollutants.

Less aftertaste

Krill oil is absorbed very quickly which leaves less time to linger and create the fishy aftertaste or reflux that is common with fish oils. No more fish burps.

Are there negative side effects?

So far there are only two potential downsides to supplementing with krill oil. For one, those that have allergies to shrimp should avoid it. While it may be fine to take it even with an allergy, that is still unknown, so it’s better to be safe rather than sorry.

Krill oil is also somewhat pricier than fish oil, although due to the more efficient absorbability and utilization of krill oil, it may be worth the heftier price tag.

fish oil factsThe bottom line is that krill oil is a fantastic way to ensure your diet is rich in available, easily absorbed Omega 3 fatty acids. A regular dose of Omega 3’s can improve your health, appearance and performance and should be part of your well balanced diet.

Posted by admin - October 18, 2011 at 1:44 pm

Categories: Healthy Supplements   Tags: , , ,

Metabolic Workouts

Many people assume that it’s not possible to burn fat metabolic workouts using resistance training. They think the two are totally separate and that one must be exclusive of the other. This couldn’t be further from the truth. With a little knowledge and whole lot of effort, you can burn fat while simultaneously increasing strength and musculature. It’s far from easy but it’s a lot more fun than staring at a wall while mindlessly trudging on a go nowhere track as it goes round and round beneath your feet. The answer to your fitness and physique lies in metabolic training.

What is a metabolic workout?

Metabolic training is a highly effective and efficient method of working both the muscular and cardiovascular systems. It is an intense, fat burning, physique-defining workout incorporating supersets or circuits composed of compound movements in rapid succession with incomplete recovery.  Metabolic training effectively utilizes both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, making it highly effective in conditioning the cardiovascular system. There are two types of metabolic training that can be used separately or combined, depending on your fitness goal.

Metabolic training for conditioning

This type of workout consists mainly of numerous, multi joint, compound exercises put together in a circuit type format. Very little rest is taken between circuits, allowing for only a partial recovery before beginning the next round. The training is very similar to high intensity interval training, creating the same effects and benefits on the cardiovascular system while providing an improvement in muscular endurance. The fat burning potential and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is similar, if not even preferable to that of an interval sprint workout since every muscle in the body is being worked.

Metabolic conditioning workouts are designed to use high reps and either light weight or body weight exercises in a multi exercise, circuit type session. All exercises are multi joint, compound movements to allow for as much stimulation as possible while pushing into the anaerobic threshold. For example, a circuit may include 5 exercises like body weight speed squats, chin ups, burpees with a push up, prisoner lunges and body weight dips with a rep range of 15 to 20 and no rest between the exercises. Enough rest is taken between circuits to nearly fully recover and the circuit is then repeated. This is how metabolic training can be compared to interval training. The heart rate skyrockets and you are well into anaerobic territory.

Metabolic resistance training

Metabolic resistance training is the same concept as metabolic conditioning but with a strength focus as opposed to muscular endurance. Heavier weights are combined with fewer reps in a superset or circuit design to stimulate a growth and/or strength response along with working within the same energy systems as conditioning circuits.

A typical workout may use a superset combination of deadlifts and a one arm incline dumbbell press for 8 reps for example, or a barbell split squat followed by a one arm dumbbell row for 10 reps. The point again is to use compound movements while alternating body parts and muscle groups in order to keep the heart rate up while allowing rest and recovery. While circuits can be done, the number of consecutive exercises will need to be limited depending upon the weights used and exertion put forth. If your workout consists of numerous big exercises like squats, deadlifts, rows and bench presses, with weights heavy enough for an 8 to 10 rep range, it may be best to group them into 2 or 3 at a time. Pushing the limits is crucial, but you also want to have the steam to give the workout everything you’ve got.

Benefits of metabolic training

The positive gains from metabolic training are seemingly limitless. Both the resistance and conditioning specific metabolic training methods have a huge effect on fat burning, in a number of ways. First of all, the calories required to complete one of these workouts properly is immense. Depending upon your current condition, body composition, genetics and most importantly, the effort put forth, you can expect to assign hundreds of calories to the task.

Metabolic training creates a significant oxygen debt, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means your body will be hard at work paying back that debt for hours after you down your post workout shake. It requires energy (calories) for our systems to return to a state of homeostasis, and the harder we’ve worked, the longer that process takes, melting the fat off at the same time.

Fat burning hormone spike

The combination of working every muscle in the body, little recovery time and constantly switching energy systems, creates a spike in fat burning growth hormone and adrenaline. This precious rise in growth hormone and adrenaline lasts for a limited time. By using the 60-minute post workout time frame to refuel those exhausted muscles, you can take full advantage of this muscle and strength building opportunity. The greater the intensity is during the workout, the larger the spike in fat burning hormones will be, so keep that in mind to maintain motivation.

Time saving

Metabolic training workouts are typically short. You simply cannot put forth such intensity for long, extended periods of time. If you can, you’re not working hard enough.

That means this type of training is perfect for those of us with a busy schedule. Not having enough time will no longer be on the list of excuses for a missed workout.

Less stress on the joints

Endless hours on the treadmill or pavement can lead to joint pain, injury, lost toenails and a number of other conditions. Similarly, repeated sets and numerous reps of isolated exercises working the same body part or muscle group can lead to tendonitis or other joint problems that can hinder your workouts. Metabolic training can spare you from these annoyances since the exercises involved are compound, multi joint exercises limiting the repeated load placed upon one single joint. The muscles and joints work together, supporting, pushing and pulling weight in a combination of movements and different planes of motion. Assuming the prescribed guidelines are adhered to, there is less risk of incurring an injury due to overuse.

Metabolic Training Summary

metabolic finishers

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While metabolic training is intense and exhausting, the hard work is well worth the outcome. Good things come to those that work hard and those that work smart. By combining the two and adding metabolic training to your program you will drastically increase your fat burning, undoubtedly improve your health, fine tune your muscle development, increase your cardiac capacity and turn heads on the beach.

Posted by admin - October 12, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Categories: Metabolic Workouts   Tags: , , , ,

How to Approach Interval Training

Interval training is the best version of cardio for fat loss. Say goodbye to long, slow, boring workouts and hello to short, burst fat burning workouts. Here with more details is Certified Turbulence Trainer, Mike Whitfield.

How to Approach Interval Training

Back when I was closing in at 300 lbs, I didn’t even know about interval training.  My interval training consisted of 20 seconds of munching on honey buns and 10 seconds of sipping on sugar-saturated soda.  Boom goes the “1,000 calories consumed in less than 5 minutes” dynamite.

That’s not interval training. That’s just a cool way to start off an article, and it’s caloric chaos.  As you know, interval training is when you exercise at a high intensity level followed by a period of recovery.  What most people get wrong is that there should be a vast difference between the two.  In other words, when you jog on a treadmill at a speed of 6.0 and then drop down to a speed of 5.0, that’s not intervals.  Sorry.  This is the way I describe intervals with my clients and how to approach them:

Whether you are a beginner or an advanced athlete, your recovery periods should be like walks with Grandpa.  That’s right – very easy (unless your Grandpa is a sprinter – if that’s the case, that’s very cool. Go Grandpa!).

The interval periods are where the approach should be different for beginners and advanced people.  Since you are different than anyone else in the world, the best way to approach interval training that fits your unique fitness level is using a perceived exertion scale of one to ten.

Let’s explain this perceived exertion scale.  A good way to grasp the concept is this:

1/10 – You’re almost just standing there

3/10 – This is a good recovery period.  This is like walks with Grandpa – very easy

5/10 – This is typically your “steady-state cardio” pace.  This is a pace in which you can sustain, but can still maintain a conversation (but not really easily)

7/10 – You can’t have a conversation and do this pace at the same time

9/10 – You’re running from hyenas (why are they chasing you? – who knows)

10/10 – This is a chaotic intensity that you can only sustain for a very short period. Imagine running from hyenas with machine guns wearing sunglasses – it’s that intense.  I recommend never doing an interval at this intensity

Now that you understand the intensity scale, let’s first take a look at how beginners should approach interval training.

Intervals for Beginners

If you are a beginner, be very conservative.  An example for beginners:

Your recovery periods should be like walks with Grandpa and your intervals should be like a brisk walk with a woman named Mary.  (Why Mary?  I don’t know – it just makes the sentence flow I guess; whatever).  Let’s take a look at a beginner using a treadmill for their intervals:

Let’s say your interval program (you do have a structured program, right??) calls for this:

30 seconds intervals (7/10 intensity)

1 minute recovery (3/10 intensity)

Do this 4 times

First, it goes without saying, you should warm-up for 3-5 minutes before starting your interval program.  Your perceived exertion for the warm-up should be what you consider your pace at “steady-state” cardio.  I typically perform my first minute at a 3/10, then 1 minute at a 4/10, followed by a couple of minutes at a 5/10 intensity.

The intervals:

30 seconds (7/10 intensity) – the speed could be around 4.0, which is a brisk walk for some folks.  But the idea is that you should be using a perceived exertion of a 7 on a scale of 1-10.  The more often you do it, the more you will learn your own body and pinpoint what a 7/10 is for you and your particular fitness level.  A 7/10 for a beginner might even be 3.0, and that’s perfectly fine.  For an Olympic athlete, a 7/10 might be running at a speed of 10.0.  We are all different.

1 minute “off” (recovery) (3/10 intensity) – the speed could be around 2.0.  You want the recovery period to be just that – a recovery period.  It should be easy.  So, if you feel you are anything above a 3 out of 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, you’re working too hard on your recovery period.  By recovering properly, you then can focus on the intervals, which give you the fat-burning effects you are looking for.

An example for a beginner might look like this:

Intervals – speed of 4.0 (7/10)

Recovery – speed of 2.0 (3/10)

So, the bottom line for beginners:

  • Your intervals should be a 7/10 while your recovery periods should be a 3/10.
  • Be conservative and learn about your body and perceived exertion.  Progress as necessary
  • Start off only doing 3-4 intervals per session, and only do them twice a week to start off with.  If you feel you can do 3 per week after the first week or two, then you can add another interval training session

Interval Training for Interval Veterans

Alright, let’s say you’ve done some intervals before and you’re an interval veteran.  Your program calls for this:

30 secs intervals (9/10)

1 minute recovery (3/10)

Do this 8 times

I don’t care how boring you find it, your recovery period is just as important as it is for beginners because if you don’t recovery properly, your performance on the intervals will suffer.  I would even say your recovery period is even more important than a beginner because your intervals are more intense. So, walk with Grandpa for recovery.  Besides, Grandpa is awesome.

I consider myself an interval veteran, so I’ll use myself running as an example.  For my interval period for 30 seconds, I would run at roughly a pace of 11.0.  Doing this type of interval program on a treadmill is tough, considering it takes time for the belt to get up to that speed.  So, I prefer to do my running intervals outside.  But the bottom line is that there is a vast difference between recovery and intervals.

Recovery (3/10) – I’m usually walking at around a 3.5 speed

Interval (9/10) – I’m hovering around a 11.0 speed

There is a big difference.  Boom goes the “Intervals Done Right” dynamite.

So, let’s summarize for interval veterans:

  • The recovery and interval periods should be quite drastic
  • Even if you are a veteran, don’t do any more than 4 interval training sessions per week
  • Grandpa is nice – be nice to him and walk with him

Bonus tip for interval beginners and veterans:  When performing intervals on the stationery bike, increase the speed just a little bit, and then increase the resistance to reach your desired intensity.  If you just increase your speed only (RPM), you could end up with over-use injuries and tight hip flexors.

Now THAT’S interval training done right to burn fat.

metabolic finishers

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Finish Strong,

Mike Whitfield
Certified Turbulence Trainer

Posted by admin - October 12, 2011 at 12:54 pm

Categories: Interval Training   Tags: , , , ,

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