Workout of the Week

Here it is, the last one of the year. It's been an absolute pleasure training with you this year and I'm very much looking forward to 2010.

Have a great time with this workout and really go for it! Let' s see what you can do. The demos for each movement are posted below the workout.

5 rounds.
50 reps of each, 40 reps of each, 30 reps, 20 reps, 10 reps.

BB Thruster
Ball Slam
Box Jump
Burpees

Resolve Nothing

It really doesn't feel like an entire year ago that we were having this same conversation, but sure enough, here we are.

New year's, new start, resolutions, blah blah blah. Screw it.

I dare you, don't resolve. Don't set yourself up with expectations that in a week, 2 weeks, a month will fall away to the business of that just so happens to be your real life. Do not set yourself up for failure. Did your resolutions stick last year? The year before that? Do you want to waste another year to proving the pattern to yourself?

Just take it one day, one decision at a time. Instead of resolving to hit the gym 5 days a week, take a look at your day. What's one thing you can do today that's a little healthier for you. Getting off the subway 1 stop earlier to get a little more walking in? Taking the stairs? Ordering the carrots at Cosi instead of the chips?

Small decisions. One at a time. No lie, some of the small decisions can be hard at first. But over time, they become easier and easier. Eventually they become a way of life.

The beautiful part is that if, at some point, you don't make the healthiest choice, you haven't failed. In 5 minutes another choice, another opportunity for you to succeed will present its self . Your day is full of them. Think of all the opportunity to succeed.

One better choice at a time.

Happy New Year.

Tip and Technique

I know, a box jump is a box jump is a box jump and you "...know perfectly well what the heck a box jump is. Thank you very much."

Right. But when was I ever one to leave well enough along? You know I'm going somewhere with this, so let's make sure you've got the foundation right before 2010's first demo and workout hit. Good? Good.

Now MOVE!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. I wish you and those dear to you all the love and peace the season has to give.

Workout of the Week

Rep counts are total for the sets, so for unilateral movements, it's a total of both arms together, not a total for each side.

5 sets

10reps, 20reps, 30reps, 40reps, 50reps

Sot press

Kettlebell Snatch

Kettlebell Jerk

BB Hang Squat

This is a tough one. Choose your loads carefully. All videos are referenced here.

Swingers: An Alternate View

Thousand roads to Mecca...many paths up the mountain...many ways to skin a cat.

9 times out of 10, when we're talking kettlebells on this site, we're talking a more girevoy sport, competitive kettlebell, style of lifting, also known as a soft style. Well, as with everything else, there's a thousand different points of view on how to lift a bell.

The truth is, it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Girevoy sport is the art of being as energetically efficient as possible to accomplish as much work over time as possible. Rob Russell, a kettlbell enthusiast, strongman and killer blogger, just posted a couple of entries coming from the other way, a harder style of lifting. The following link comes highly recommended.

I'm not, and never will be a hard style lifter. It doesn't fit my goals. However, most of my clients that lift, lift in a more hard style, because that's what fits with their goals. Give a look and let me know what you think.

http://kettlebell-training-for-sport.blogspot.com/2009/12/kettlebell-swing-technique-tips.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KettlebellTrainingForSport+%28kettlebell+training+for+sport%29

Tip & Technique Video: Sot Press

Rotation. It happens when you walk, climb stairs and run. It happens every time you swing a bat or a golf club. It happens with every pitch you throw, volley you serve, set up or put away. Or, for a more everyday application here in the city, it happens every time you zig to avoid being impaled by the umbrella that guy in front of you is absent mindedly swinging around on the sidewalk.

So...let's train it.

Holiday FEAST'ivities

We're closing in on the big ones guys. It's like, what..1 shopping day till Christmas or something? At any rate, the holiday parties are in full swing, after work cocktail parties, gatherings at a fiends place with finger foods and feasts alike.

I've already got people freaking out about it. Don't. Remain calm folks. The holidays are a time to enjoy, not to fear and deprive ones self.

You're worried about a million calorie dinner followed by all those cookies cakes and pies. Well guess what. I've got a box of 500+ calorie cookies sitting on my desk right now that someone so thoughtfully gave me the other day. You know what else? I can tell you from personal experience that they're good!

Here's the key guys. I had a cookie, not all 12 in the box. Do not fear the holidays. Have fun. Taste and sample the goodies. You know what? Try everything! Just don't finish everything. You don't have to overindulge in order to enjoy. Take your time. Slow down when you're eating or snacking at a party. By simply taking the time to chew and tast what you're putting in your mouth, you'll need less of it to get the full enjoyment. You'll fill up faster by not scarfing because your body will actually have the opportunity to tell you you're full before you're stuffed.

Relax. Have fun. Drop out of the clean plate club and try a bite of the pie. I promise you'll survive.

Workout of the Week

Complete as many rounds of the following as possible in 30 minutes. Check the video archive for instruction.

10 Thrusters

20 Ball Slam

30 SumoDeadliftHighPull

Suggested loads for intermediate lifters:

Thrusters 35# women, 75# men

Ball Slam 10# women, 20# men

SDHP 12kg women, 24kg men

Be safe and honest about your ability level. Honesty (especially with ones self) is always the best policy.

Brown Bag It

Muscle Milk, Lean Body, Pure Pro, EAS...Hershey's Chocolate Milk and Carnation Instant Breakfast. Turns out that with all the research and studies to make the optimal sports recovery drink, the ratio of carbohydrates to protein is perfect for after workout recovery drink. 2 cups gives you around 16g protein and 48g carbohydrates.

Something else to think about, pre exercise carb consumption is directly linked to being able to maintain energy stores in the body throughout the workout while pre exercise protein helps to minimize the protein breakdown in your muscles. A good source of healthy carbs and lean fat...multigrain peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

How much better does it get than bookending a hard witkout with the old brown bag special Mom used to send you off to school with? PB&J and chocolate milk, does a body good!

Tip & Technique Video: Pistol

The grandaddy of all squats. Master this, and there pretty much isn't a body weight exercise your legs and balance can't handle. Sure, we can progress the pistol to a more challenging level, but let's get the basics first.

Now MOVE!

Holy Popping Kernels Batman!

You might have seen this by now, but I though it was worth re-posting it here.

While providing a very healthy and light snack at home, it seems that not all popcorn is created equal. Now, it’s no shock. Pretty much everyone by now knows that movie theatre popcorn isn’t among the healthier snack choices you could make. A new report out by Center for Science in the Public Interest reveals some eye popping statistics.

A medium popcorn and soda combo at Regal cinemas (which weighs in at a hefty $12 by the way) carries 1,610 calories and no less than 60 grams of saturated fat. To put that in perspective, that’s the caloric value of 3 McDonald’s quarter pounders and 12 pads of butter. Think about it. That’s a recommended 3 day allowance of saturated, artery clogging fat. To put it another way, that’s the fat equivalent of an entire stick of butter and the caloric value of two sticks.

At AMC, their large popcorn has the caloric value of an entire pound of baby back ribs topped with a full scoop of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, 1030 calories. The only thing is that with 57 grams of saturated fat, you’d actually come out ahead with the ribs and ice cream.

So what’s the deal? By and large cinemas are using coconut oil, one of the worst for you, highest saturated oils around to pop their corn in. To put it in perspective lard is only 40% saturated. Coconut oil is 90%.

Workout of the Week

Squat Press 5,000lbs. Record time and load.

I don't care what load you pick. Just pick a load you can lift repeatedly. Every time you lift that load, you add that much more weight to your total. If you need to change loads in the middle, fine. Just make sure to calculate accordingly.

So, for example, if I were to drop squat 95#, I would have to complete 52 reps.

Record load, reps and time to complete. Refer to the videos and use common sense when choosing to participate!


Now MOVE!

Spinning, Body Sculpt, Training & Cancer

I’m not sure if you heard about this or not, but apparently many fitness center owner/operators didn’t get the memo. In July a study was published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in The Lancet Oncology that categorically classifies tanning beds as a group 1 cancer risk. This places usage of tanning beds in the most dangerous, highest risk category of carcinogens.

Other group 1 carcinogens include: asbestos, mustard gas, plutonium 239, tobacco and arsenic. Let’s look at that. Indoor tanning has been proven to be as hazardous to your health as arsenic and cigarettes.

In fact, if you go tanning before the age of 30, you’ve just increased your risk of melanoma by 75%.

So then why the hell are so many health clubs still offering tanning services? For all intents and purposes those exact places we go to build our health, strength and fitness might as well sell cigarettes out of a vending machine in the locker room.

A quick Google search reveals that at least 6 of the top 10 major national fitness chains/franchises offer tanning services. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

Here’s another little bit of food for thought. Last I checked, you couldn’t purchase tobacco products until you turn 18. How 16 year olds were packed into that Beach Bum tanning salon when you walked past it earlier today?

Remember, 75% increase in cancer risk if used before 30 years old.

Tip & Technique Video: Squat Press

You can just tell by looking at this that Tuesday is going to be ugly.

Have fun. Now MOVE!

Kettle Kickoff

Well, it looked like we were in for a long dry spell for kettlebell lifting until the spring rolled around. Turns out our friends over at IronworkeFe have other plans. Rick and Chriss have just announced their first meet to be held on Jan 10th at their studio in Queens. I'll post a link below.

Now, having lifted in their first event, I want to encourage everybody, but particularly those off you still looking to get your feet wet in your first girevoy sport competition to look into this. If this turns out to be anything like last time, you can expect a very excited and supportive crowd of people at all experience levels.

Seriously. It's time. Jump in. I'll see you there.

IronForEverybody.com

Workout of the Week

10 rounds. First round has 10 reps, second has 9, third has 8....the tenth has 1.

Use the video archives. There's a couple of oldies in here to kick off the Christmas season.

BB Hang Squat

BB Power Clean

BB Pushpress

Cirbees

Ho ho ho.

Record your load and time.