Workout Of The Week 12/8/2011

This is another workout designed for minimal space and minimal equipment just in case your house bound due to weather.

Warm up by jogging in place 1 minute, perform 25 jacks, 15 push ups and 15 sit ups and repeat cycle two more times.

Perform the following exercises from top to bottom, pause and then repeat for a total of 4X through.

20 burpees20 windmill push ups
Perform a push up and then rotate to one side into a side plank (see below).
20 squat thrusts
20 plank row- can use a weight of just pull elbow back.

20 tuck squat thrusts
Perform a squat thrust and then when you hop up out of it perform a tuck jump.20 renegade push ups
20 full burpees
Perform a regular burpee but instead of a push up lie all the way down on the floor before pushing up and hopping in.
20 travel push ups - 5 to the right, 5 to the left. Repeat.
Perform a regular push up and then walk hands and feet to the right until you have completed 5 push ups then repeat back to left for 5.

20 pike and drop
You can hop or walk your feet back into the push up.
20 tricep push ups


Rest

After 4th round of the above perform 4 sets of 10 jackknife sit ups (start out lying on your back and then pike up and touch your toes). Stretch.

Workout Of The Week October 13th, 2011

W.O.W. 10/13/2011

You will need dumbbells and a place to run for this workout.

Warm up for five minutes.


Perform two rounds of the following:
Single leg squat hop Right X20
Burpee X20
Single leg squat hop Left X20
Push up and row X20 (10 a side)
Run a fast 400 meter
Rest





Perform two rounds of the following exercises:
Frog hop X20
Jack squat thrust X20
Frog hop X20
Squat and shoulder press X20
Run sprints 30 secs on/30 secs off - 5X




Perform two rounds of the following exercises
Split jump X20
Tuck squat thrust X20
Split jump X20
Overhead lunge X20/s
Run 800 meters





Finish with 4 sets of 20 sit ups.

Easy Spicy Beef Topped With A Fried Egg

I can't remember where I found this recipe but I just ran across it. I love to add a fried egg to spicy beef dishes. It's a compliment to the spice and it adds an extra dose of the perfect protein.

Easy Spicy Beef Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 pound beef flank steak, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 large green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Toss beef with marinade, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.
2. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large, nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the green onions, and cook for 5 to 10 seconds before stirring in the beef. Cook and stir until the beef is no longer pink and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Fry an egg in a hot skillet so it is brown and crispy around the edges. Flip it and cook just long enough to set the yolk. Place it on top of the beef and serve.
   

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving without the egg - Calories: 212 Total Fat: 13.6g Protein: 22g Carbs: 4g
With the egg - add 90 calories, 7g Fat, 7g Protein, 0g Carbs

Super Sets

If your workout has stalled there is one simple change that can mix it up without even changing the exercises. Train one muscle group while your resting another. This type of training keeps your heart rate up and makes your workout super efficient.

Here's an example of a good, basic, total body lifting routine based on super sets:

Warm up first (always) with light calisthenics and/or cycling, rowing or elliptical.

Perform 3 sets of each combination of exercises. Take a very short break between sets.

Incline bicep curls X8 reps
Single arm tricep overhead extension X8/side

Dumbbell shoulder press X8
Walking lunges X20 steps

Pulldowns (or pull ups) X8
Bench press X8

Reverse curls on bench X20
Hyper extension X10

Top Four Body Weight Drills

There are four exercises that you can do anytime, anywhere so keep them handy for when you are on the road or stuck in your house for any reason. Here are the drills with variations to keep it interesting.



Push Ups

#1. Decline push ups - put your feet on a chair or table to perform the movement.
#2. Renegade push ups - perform a push up and as you come up out of the push up extend the opposite arm and leg. There are a couple variations on this drill. The most popular one is push up and row (pull one elbow to the ceiling at the top of the push up) but it isn't nearly as effective without weights and the drills I have listed are specifically designed to be challenging without using any equipment.
#3. Tricep push ups - keep elbows close to your body throughout the exercise.
#4. Plyometric push ups - as you come up push off explosively so that your hands (and/or feet) leave the floor.

Squats

Here are just a few squat variations. There are many, many more.
#1. Change the tempo of the squat by pulsing at the bottom for 10-20 reps before you come all the way up.
#2. Take your feet really wide with toes turned out, place your hands on your head and sink down at least to a 90 degree angle at your knee.
#3. Drop into a squat with your hands on your head and walk around the room for 10-20 steps.
#4. Bring your feet together and touch the floor with both hands on either side of your feet. Explode up into a jump while reaching for the ceiling.




Squat Thrusts/Burpees

#1. Just to clarify - a squat thrust is nothing fancy, just down/back/in/up. A burpee has a push up thrown in.
#2. Add a jack with the legs once your in plank and a jack as you hop up.
#3. After you kick your legs back lay all the way down on the floor so legs, belly and chest are all touching then push yourself up and hop in and up.
#4. After you kick your feet back bring your knees into your chest and kick back again before you hop in and up.




Sit Ups

#1. Traditional gym-class sit ups - hands behind the head, knees bent and curl all the way up to touch your elbows to your knees.
#2. Straighten your knee with arms straight over head. Curl up and touch your toes.
#3. Start with legs straight and hands behind your head. Curl up all the way, bringing one knee into your chest, touch it with your opposite elbow (you should twist across).
#4. Put your hands behind your head and tuck elbows and knee together so they touch. Extend legs out parallel to the floor. Bring them up some if your lower back bothers you.

Mix up sets and reps for the above exercises to create even more variation.

Low Carb Dieting

I highly suggest that you get a copy of 'Living Low Carb' by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS. Especially Chapter 6, The Biggest Myths about Low-Carb Diets. If you have been resistant to low calorie diets you may just see yourself in his text. Especially the quote "...there is no physiological need for carbohydrates in the human diet." There is a lot of research backing this up. Just think about it. It would be easy to study protein vs. carbs. Put one person on an all carb diet and one person on an all protein diet. The research shows that the person on the all carb diet would die within the year and the all protein person would be thriving. In chapter 7 he compares 38 diets and why they work and don't work for some people. He talks about how hard a diet is to follow and how effective he thinks it is. He doesn't just talk about low carb diets, he talks about the most popular diets over the past few decades. He shows why they may or may not work. Obviously he thinks low carb is the way to go but is not preachy about it.

I have seen many clients finally lose weight after embracing the low carb (or even just a lower carb life). Most of them tell me they don't miss bread or pasta once they have practiced the new way to eat for a week or so.

Go forth and live low carb!

W.O.W. July 13th, 2011

Workout of the week:

This is a basic strength workout for the weight room.

Warm up well before beginning the workout because you will be lifting heavy. Choose a weight that you struggle with by the 6th repetition. If you really want to go for it you should find a spotter or lift with someone else.

Bench press 4X6-8

10 squat thrusts
(no push up)

10 burpee
(same as to the right)

Pull ups 4 sets to failure

25 donkey kicks

Squats 4 sets of 6-8 reps

20 frog hops

20 tuck jumps

1 minute of sit ups, rest and repeat for 1 min, rest and repeat one more time.

Stretch.

W.O.W. June 27, 2011

Work Out Of The Week

This is a complicated pyramid work out. It's complicated to figure out, not to do. You will perform 5 drills in order but the times will vary.

Here's the formula:

Drill #1-50 seconds
Drill #2-50 seconds, Drill #1-40 seconds
Drill #3-50 seconds, Drill #2-40 seconds, Drill #1-30 seconds
Drill #4-50 seconds, Drill #3-40 seconds, Drill #2-30 seconds, Drill #1-20 seconds
Drill #5-50 seconds, Drill #4-40 seconds, Drill #3-30 seconds, Drill #2-20 seconds, Drill#1-10 seconds

You can do the above with any five drills. The sequence is about 9 minutes long. Go through it in order, Drills #1-5, and then rest. Repeat everything but start with Drill #5 and go backwards.

Here are today's drills:



#1 Jacks

#2 Push Ups

#3 Jump squats

#4 Sit ups

#5 Burpees

Go through the above drills, rest, and then repeat in reverse order.




Yes, it's hard to keep your own time but there are ways to do it. There are interval apps for smart phones and there are watches with which you can program any interval length.

Great Summer Salad

Very simple and very good PLUS you don't need any dressing.

1/4 head of romaine lettuce
1 small tomato. chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper cut in slices
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1 skinless chicken breast, chopped and mixed with one tablespoon of low fat mayo

Toss everything together. The salad is very satisfying and the protein means you won't get hungry as quickly.

Total calories: 300
Protein: 26
Carbs: 34
Fat: 8

W.O.W. June 18, 2011

Workout of the Week

Warm up for about 5 minutes any way you like.

Set up a barbell with enough weight on it that you can curl 8X. Perform the following in order.


25 jacks
Bicep curl 8X

20 burpees

Shoulder press 8X

10 8 ct bodybuilders*
Tricep french press with barbell 8X

25 crouch squat hops

Bent over row 12X

20 squat thrusts
Floor bench press 12X

10 jack and tuck**

25 sit ups

You can repeat everything or just stick to the one run through. You must make sure the barbell is loaded with enough weight that the one set is a struggle. Sometimes it's hard to figure it out so play around with it until you get it.

Stretch.

*8 ct bodybuilder: starts like a burpee (hands down, kick back, 1 push up) then add on 2 jacks with the legs on the floor, hop in and hop up.

**Jack and tuck: 1 jack, 1 tuck jump. Simple.

Get Outside!

We stay inside way too much. Now that the weather is better it is time to get outside! I know it's really hot in some places but you do have options. Even in the desert the temperatures are tolerable in the morning hours.

It is also super easy to do. Find a park and you have a plethora of readily available 'equipment' to use. Use a wall or bench to perform step-ups, sit squats, bi-level squats, incline push ups and dips. Open fields can be used to run sprints and provide a cushy surface for push ups, burpees and ab work. Often there are stairs near by as well. Stairs are a fantastic work out. If you don't know what to do besides just run up and down them I have included a stair work out below.

And one of the most important benefits of exercising outdoors has to do with your brain. The Peninsula College of Medicine writes "......compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported a greater enjoyment in their exercise activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat it at a later date".

So there you go. Great benefits and a better chance that you will stick with your exercise program. Can't beat that.


Stair Work Out

Start with an easy jog to warm up. It's a great idea to park a few blocks away from the stairs and then jog to and from your work out. All the drills are simple and intense.

Run up singles 5X
Run up doubles (every other stair) 5X
Run up triples 5X - I have had clients that are 5 feet tall. If they can take every third stair so can you.

Hop up singles 1X
Hop up doubles (again, every other stair) 1X
Hop up sideways, leading with right shoulder into the stair 1X
Hop up sideways leading with left shoulder 1X
Repeat all four drills three more times (total of four sets).

Obviously the length of the workout depends on how long the staircase is but you can do all the drills one time through or repeat everything. Mix it up.

Make sure to stretch the crap out of your calves, quads and hamstrings....but especially your calves.

New Idea For Tracking Nutrition

Actually it's not a new idea at all. One time, quite a few years back, I went to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting with my sister. In OA they have you write down your food before you eat it. The standard method these days is to write down everything that you eat after you eat it. That does work for a lot of people but some people need more guidance then that. It does take more planning too.

What you need to do is start a notebook, not for tracking but for planning. Planning what your going to eat tackles the impulse eating that people can easily fall into. It's the same theory as shopping. If you want to stay on a budget you stick to your list. You don't buy anything that is not on your list. The cool part is nobody is telling you not to eat (or buy) whatever it is. It just means you can't eat it today. If you really want it later then write it on your menu for the next day. The likelihood is that you won't want it once you step away from the situation.

This is going to sound funny but make sure you plan to eat enough food. When you write it out it can look like an awful lot of food. I also suggest that you start with pretty strict portion control. I know that sounds tedious but one of things that has proven true is that people underestimate what they eat. Once you develop an eye for portion size you may be able to relax a little bit.

People who know me know that I do not write out diets for my clients. It has been proven that people won't stay on a 'diet'. In order to maintain weight loss you have to make a life-style change. If you hate broccoli and I tell you to eat broccoli not only will you be unhappy but eventually you will most likely give up.

Okay. So go find a nice notebook and start planning. It is best to do it the night before. Look through your fridge and write down what you are going to eat the next day. Write down the time of day as well that way you will be reassured that you won't go hungry for any length of time. In general I eat at 7am, 10am, around 1:30pm, 5pm and 8:30pm. Write down as many 'meals' as you want, only you know when you are most likely to get hungry.

W.O.W. March 1st, 2011

Workout Of the Day

Warm up on the treadmill for 5 minutes then increase your speed and run hard for 3 minutes. Drop your speed and increase the incline to 10% and run for 2 minutes.

Hold one dumbbell up in your RIGHT hand, so it's overhead with a straight arm. Lunge forward and back with the RIGHT leg. Repeat 10X on each side for 4 sets.

Run fast for 3 minutes, decrease your speed and increase your incline to 8% and run for 2 minutes.

On the cable machine. Adjust a single-grip pulley about waist height. Step back and lunge forward with your LEFT foot and hold the lunge. Make sure the lunge is deep and static so don't move. Grab the handle with the RIGHT hand and pull it back in a row to your waist. The weight should be heavy enough that you feel off-balance. Repeat 12X on each side for 4 sets. The illustration on the left shows a one arm cable row and the height that I want but her feet are not in the position I want. If she puts her left foot forward and right leg and bends both knees she will be in a static lunge position.

Run fast for 3 minutes, slow down, increase incline to 6% and run for 2 minutes.


Perform decline push ups (feet on a bench or a couple of stacked plates, depends on how easily you do push ups). 4 sets of 20 reps.

Jog easily on the treadmill for 5 minutes.

And yes, stretch. Again I know it is highly unlikely that you will stretch on your own but please, stretch at least your low back, hamstrings and chest (see illustrations below).

Hamstring Stretch

Chest Stretch on the left, low back stretches on the right.