Health Habits

improve your health, habit by habit

Posts Tagged ‘anaerobic’

It HIRTs So Good

August 28th, 2009

I just finished destroying two clients with this workout.

Enjoy….

pdf version

Exercise Videos

Ab Roll-Outs

Hindu Push-Ups

Bodyweight Squats (Arms Overhead) – ball not required

Inch Worms

Body-Weight Row

Standing Angled Woodchop (DB/Plate/Med Ball)

Push-Ups

Side Lunge

Shuffle Lunge

DB Bicep Curl & Overhead Press Combo

Shuffle Lunge
Standing Face Pull

Glute Ham Raise (on pulldown machine)

Bodyweight Skullcrushers

Combo Pullover / Crunch on Stability Ball (imagine the ball)

Seated Shoulder Press

Reverse Flyes (DB, Band)

DB Hammer Grip Bicep Curl

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

HIRT Workout….No Equipment…..No Problem

August 20th, 2009

Not a lot of talk today folks.

Just a killer HIRT workout for those people who find themselves without any fitness equipment.

Superset # 1

1a. Speed Squats – 5 sets of 20 reps

1b. 1 Leg Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps per leg (moderate speed – feel the stretch)

Note – I prefer to do the negative/lowering portion of this exercise slower

.

Superset # 2

2a. Body Weight Row – 5 sets of 8 reps (table, tree, swing set, railing, etc)

2b. Push-Ups – 5 sets of 5 reps

.

Superset # 3

3a. Step Ups – 5 sets of 10 reps per side

Note – Use stairs or chair or bench to replace the bench

3b. Bodyweight SkullCrushers – 5 sets of 5 reps

Note – Use stairs or chair or bench instead of the gizmo used in the video

.

Superset # 4

4a. Spiderman Lunge – 5 sets of 5 reps per side

4b. Hip Bridge – Dynamic – 5 sets of 20 reps

.

The Rules

No rest between sets
60 seconds rest between supersets
Workout lasts for 45 minutes. If (you finish all 4 supersets in less than 45 minutes…start over at superset #1
Mix up the order of the supersets from workout to workout.

.

Print (pdf) version

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

13 Training Mistakes You Need to Avoid

August 4th, 2009

Fitness training isn’t rocket science.

Good training & nutrition decisions produce good results.

Poor training & nutrition decisions produce poor results.

So, how come when I go to the gym this afternoon, I can pretty much guarantee that I am going to see a lot of intelligent, well-educated, gainfully employed people making some pretty stupid training decisions?

Maybe fitness training is rocket science?

Maybe I am some sort of fitness training genius.

So, as a public service to all of the non-fitness-training genii out there, here is a list of some of the training mistakes I will probably see at the gym today.

Try and avoid them.

Doing Cardio Training before Resistance Training
Doing Static Stretching before Resistance Training
Training Core before Legs
Chugging a Gatorade while reading a book on the Exercise Bike
Thinking that the Inner Thigh (Adductor) Machine is going to work some sort of magic.
Ignoring your Weaknesses and over-training your Strengths
Believing that Core Training is all about Crunches & Planks
Training Body Parts instead of Body Movements
Believing that you can Out-Train a Bad Diet
Making chronic neck & shoulder pain worse by ignoring your postural muscles
Thinking that Resistance Training will make you too big
Thinking that Cardio training will make you too small
Performing a one size fits all type of fitness program

And if you see yourself on the list and want to change your evil ways, feel free to comment.

I or one of your fellow readers would be glad to lend a hand.

Addendum

I just received an email from a quasi-famous strength coach/trainer to the stars telling me that I was an idiot for believing that cardio prior to resistance training is a bad idea.

Personally, I can’t believe that he took the time out of his day to tell me off via email (wouldn’t a comment have been quicker?) but I would like to thank him because it helped me come up with another fitness training mistake:

Dogma

Believing that one way of training is the 100% right and that all other methods are 100% wrong.

Whether it’s hardcore cardio junkies or Crosfitters or bodybuilders of Yoginis, being close minded to different training methods seems prety stupid to me.

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

A Reader's Experience with HIIT

July 16th, 2009

Taz love HIIT

Obviously, I love HIIT.

And as it turns out, I am not alone.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Matt explaining how his fitness had gone through the roof after becoming a HIIT guy.

Here’s Matt’s story… in his own words:

My experience with HIIT

When I first heard of HIIT I thought it was just simply interval training, a time tested way to raise your endurance. However I started looking into this more and its very different then just interval training, you alternate periods of very high/extreme effort with periods of low effort. My first real HIIT session was 2-30s, 2-20s, and 1-10s intervals after a 5min warm-up. Only 5 minutes of actual HIIT, but it left me shaky and a little light headed, but shortly after that I also had a great sense of well being. I have since grown to really enjoy my HIIT sessions.

Results? I started easy on HIIT and although my diet has not been as great as I have wanted I still have managed to lose 8lbs in the past 8 weeks. That may not sound like much, but I had been on a plateau prior to this for a month or so, and it should also be noted that I have lost 2.5in on my chest, 2in off my stomach, and 1in off my waist as well. Lately I think I may be re-compositioning because in the last 2 weeks alone I have lost a ½in on both my chest and my waist with no net weight change.

The most noticeable results for me come from my martial arts sessions, particularly sparring where it can be very explosive start/stop type of a workout, I simply don’t get winded anymore and even when I start to breathe hard it’s only a matter of seconds before I can recover. HIIT has totally supercharged my cardiovascular system, in the past my wind always went long before my muscles, now it is tending to be the other way around which lets me train harder.

The scariest part initially was seeing the HR ranges I was staying in; however everything I have read states that perceived effort (how you feel) is more important than reading the numbers. Our max HR are all different just like how our bodies will respond to HIIT is different, as long as you are not light headed, gasping for air, your arms are not tingling, or your chest not hurting your probably fine. But at the same regard I would not jump full bore into HIIT without some moderate prior cardio work of some sort just to gauge your current status.

Otherwise I highly recommend HIIT to anyone healthy enough to perform it that wants improve their cardiovascular system or drop some fat.

Thanks Doug for helping me along with my questions on HIIT!

Matt

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

HIIT is your best choice for burning off Belly Fat

June 17th, 2009

Not a pretty picture is it?

BAD NEWS

Abdominal Visceral Fat (aka Belly Fat) has been strongly linked to:

Depression
Heart Disease
Cancer
Systemic Inflammation
Diabetes
Metabolic Syndrome
Death

In a nutshell, a big gut is not a good thing.

GOOD NEWS

High Intensity (HIIT and/or HIRT) Training burns off belly fat faster than any other form of exercise.

The Magic of HIIT

The Science

Study # 1

In 2008, researchers took 27 middle-aged obese women with metabolic syndrome and subjected them to one of three exercise programs.

Group 1 was the no-exercise control group
Group 2 was the low intensity (aerobic) exercise group -
Group 3 was the high intensity (HIIT) exercise group

Groups 2 & 3 performed 5 workouts per week @ 400 calories per workout.

After 16 weeks, the HIIT group had significantly reduced total abdominal fat, abdominal subcutaneous fat and most importantly abdominal visceral fat.

Sadly, Groups 1 & 2 saw no significant changes in fat loss.

Study # 2

In study #2, researchers took 45 normal women (mean BMI 23.2 plusminus 2.0 kg m^-2 and age of 20.22.0 years) and subjected them to a 15 week HIIT exercise program.

As in the first study, the women were divided into 3 groups.

Group 1 was the no-exercise control group
Group 2 was the low intensity (aerobic) exercise group -
Group 3 was the high intensity (HIIT) exercise group

After 15 weeks, both exercise groups demonstrated a significant improvement in cardiovascular fitness.

However, only the HIIT group had a significant reduction in:

total body mass (TBM),

fat mass (FM),

trunk fat

and fasting plasma insulin levels.

.

Conclusion

.

High Intensity training (HIIT or HIRT) is more effective than cardio training for burning off belly fat.

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

Today’s Workouts – June 16, 2009

June 16th, 2009

Alan Ariail racing his NoCom - Photo: Dan Glatch

Tuesday’s Workouts

Workout # 1

20 min of HIIT sprints on the bike – 100% intensity (10:50 / 15:45 / 20:40) w 5 min warm-up & cool-down

Workout # 2

60 min of steady state cardio at intensity 6/10
10 min of stretching
20 min of meditation (approx time as time ceases to be linear in the meditative state…..ohmmmm

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments »

Posted in Exercise, fat loss, fitness, health, obesity, weight loss

Tags: aerobic anaerobic bike cardio Exercise fitness health heart high intensity interval training hiit obesity recumbant bike sprints weight loss workout

Today’s Workout – June 10, 2009

June 10th, 2009

Resistance Training Day

Warm-up

5 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching

Workout

Superset #1

10 minutes of heavy bag work – fists, knees, feet & elbows

No rest between techniques…sweat pouring off me like Niagara Falls

60 sec rest between superset 1 & 2 as I moved from the heavy bag room to the weight room

Superset #2

Push-Ups – various grips – Bodyweight – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
BW Row on Smith Machine – Bodyweight – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
Swing Snatch – 35 lb plate – 10 sets of 10 reps

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

Straight Arm Pushdowns – Dynamic movement – lots of core involvement – 8 sets of 20 reps, weight pyramiding from 145 – 260 lbs., (last 3 sets 19, 16, 14 reps) supersetted with
Jumping / Shuffling Split Lunges – 8 sets of 40 reps, Bodyweight

No rest between sets

60 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

Cybex Incline Chest Press – 10 sets of 20 – 13 reps – weight increasing from 145 – 300 lbs, supersetted with
Bulgarian Split Squat – 10 sets of 7 reps, Bodyweight,

Flexibility/Mobility Training

no time to stretch…oops, gonna pay for that

Notes:

Short on time today. 35 minute workout. No rest between sets. No rest between supersets. Exhausted at the end of 35 minutes. Jogged to the gym and jogged/stumbled home from the gym

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

Popularity: 2% [?]

No comments »

Posted in Exercise, fitness, health, weight loss, working out

Tags: abs anaerobic back bench press bicep boxing chest chin up circuit training core endurance Exercise fitness heart hiit hirt interval training kicking lats lunge power press pushup row sprints strength superset swing snatch weight loss workout

Today’s Workout – June 08, 2009

June 8th, 2009

Resistance Training Day

Warm-up

10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching

Workout

Superset #1

Rollouts – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
alternating sets of Bodyweight Squats & Bodyweight Reverse Lunges – 10 sets of 20 reps

No rest between sets – Total reps – 100 rollouts & 200 reps squats/lunges

3 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

Pull-Ups – various grips – Bodyweight – 5 sets of 5 reps, supersetted with
1 Arm DB Press – 75 lbs – 5 sets of 3 reps, supersetted with
Jumping Lunges – Bodyweight – 5 sets of 20 reps

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

1 Arm Kneeling Pulldowns – 8 sets of 5 reps, weight pyramiding from 145 – 250, supersetted with
Glute Ham Raises – 8 sets of 5 reps, Bodyweight

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

Standing Cable Crunch – 7 sets of 3 reps @ 135 lbs, supersetted with
Bulgarian Split Squat – 7 sets of 7 reps, Bodyweight, supersetted with
Standing Cable Row – 2 hand – focus on scap retraction not biceps – 7 sets of 7 reps @ 225 lbs

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 4 & 5

Superset #5

Cybes Shoulder Press – 5 sets of 5 reps @ 205 lbs, supersetted with
DB Concentration Curl – Hammer grip – 5 sets of 5 reps @ 50 lbs

No rest between sets

Flexibility/Mobility Training

15 min of stretching

Popularity: 1% [?]

No comments »

Posted in Exercise, fitness, health

Tags: anaerobic back bicep chin up circuit training endurance Exercise fitness heart lats power press pull up pulldown shoulder sprints strength weight loss workout

10 more reasons to love High Intensity Interval Training

May 7th, 2009

Extreme HIIT

HIIT was better than the standard multidisciplinary approach (exercise, diet and psychological support) at helping overweight kids reduce their cardiovascular risk factors. Here’s the study
HIIT can prevent cardiac death in type 2 diabetic individuals. Here’s the study
HIIT should be a required treatment for all Metabolic Syndrome patients. 16 weeks of HIIT training significantly reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease, in terms of improved VO2max, endothelial function, blood pressure, insulin signaling, and plasma lipid composition. Here’s the study
HIIT substantially improves insulin action. Say bye-bye to type 2 diabetes & metabolic syndrome. Here’s the study
HIIT increases levels of HDL cholesterol – that’s the good cholesterol. Here’s the study
HIIT improves the HRR (Heart Rate Recovery – a measure of how quickly your heart returns to normal post-exercise)) in already well-trained cyclists. Here’s the study
HIIT drastically improves cardiovascular function (V02_max) in patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Here’s the study
Interval training produced a 302% greater increase inV02max when compared to a long, slow distance training protocol. Here’s the study
HIIT significantly improved the aerobic fitness of a group of prepubescent children (aerobic fitness measured by peak oxygen consumption $(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{2{\text{peak}}}} )$ and maximal aerobic velocity) Here’s the study
HIIT improves the erectile function of hypertension patients Here’s the study fellas

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat

March 18th, 2009

This post is for that guy at the gym who avoids squatting because:

They hurt his back
They hurt his knees
They hurt his shoulders, wrists, neck, ego…
Squat only focus on his quads
He’s trying to focus on his vastus medialis
Squats are overrated
He’s not a powerlifter
He’s not a bodybuilder
He’s not a football player or sprinter or skater or…

Well, you get the idea.

Just for that guy, I am going to outline all of the different ways that you or him can squat.

Note: I am pretty sure that I will miss something, so feel free to let me know what I missed and I will add it to the post.

1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat

In an attempt to organize this master list of squatting options, I decided to organize all of these different lifts into different categories.

Unilateral / Bilateral

1 Leg Squat – free leg held in front of body – knee bent
1 Leg Pistol Squat – free leg held in front of body – leg straight
1 Leg Box Squat – free leg hangs down
1 Leg Squat – free leg placed behind body
1 Leg Bulgarian Squat
2 Leg Squat

Stance / Body Orientation

Hips turned out – Toes turned out
Hips straight – Toes straight – legs shoulder width apart
Hips & toes straight – narrow stance – legs close together

Torso held high, chest up, very little forward lean at the hips – bodybuilder style
Rear end pushed back, large forward lean at the hips – powerlifter style

More knee flexion than hip flexion during lift – Knees move past the toes during lift
Equal knee and hip flexion – Knees don’t pass the toes
More hip flexion than knee flexion – Knees stay well back of the toes – box squat style

Equipment

Barbell
Dumbbell(s)
Kettlebell(s)
Bodyweight only
Weighted Vest
Band(s)
Chains
Medicine ball, sandbag, log, tire, rock, person or any other extreme implement
Machines – Smith machine, Squat machine, Hack Squat machine, etc….
Cable weight machines
Benches / Boxes
Stability balls

Position of Load

Back Squat – load held on shoulders behind the neck
Front Squat – load held in front of the neck
Overhead Squat
DBs, KBs, etc held in hands at waist height
Zercher Squats – load held in the “crook” of your elbows at chest/belly height
Hack Squat – barbell held behind your legs

Range of Motion

Full squat
Barely bending your knees Partial Squat
Everything in between
1 and 1/2 squats – squat all the way down, come up half way, go back down and then squat all the way up
Focusing on a specific range – i.e working only in the bottom 1/4 of the full range focuses the effort strongly on your glutes, while focusing on the top 1/4 focuses mainly on the quads while also making the exercise much, much easier

Tempo or Speed

There are a number of different systems for classifying lifting speed. For simplicity sake, I will stick with the basics: fast, moderate, slow & pause
Different speeds of motion can be used for the different portions of the lift: descent, bottom, ascent, top
You can mix and match the different speeds with the different portions of the lift depending on your training goals
The typical squatter descends fast, doesn’t pause at the bottom, ascends back up fast and pauses at the top if he needs to rest – not very scientific
However, another lifter may descend slowly, pause at the bottom to eliminate the bounce he might receive from his stretch shortening cycle, ascend as fast as possible and immediately descend into another squat

Weight of Load as a % of 1 Rep Max Lift

Your 1 Rep Max Lift is the maximum amount of weight you can successfully lift with good form.
If you are lifting for strength, you will likely choose a load that is close to your 1 Rep max. A lower percentage load is used when you are performing high reps for muscular endurance or for low reps and high speed in an attempt to develop muscular speed.

Lifting Surface

This category is primarily employed by the Bosu or “functional training” crowd
Most lifters stand on a solid floor, but if it floats your boat, feel free to squat while standing on:
Balance disks
a Bosu
a 1/2 foam roller
a balance beam
on top of someone’s shoulders

Training Volume

Depending on your training goals (power, strength, hypertrophy, endurance, speed), you can choose a variety of reps per set, sets per exercise and total sets/reps per workout

Rest Periods

This category refers to the length of the rest periods taken between sets.
Short rest periods are used as a tool to develop the trainees anaerobic energy system.
Long rest periods are used to allow more complete muscular and/or nervous system recovery.
And as with tempo and load percentage, there is an almost infinite number of positions in between.

Putting it all together…

To be honest, I have no idea how many different types of squats we could make with all of these options.

1,000,000,001 looked impressive, so I went with it…sue me.

But, I do know that my little list ‘o squats should definitely spark your imagination and help you create a new and better squat workout.

Have fun.

.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

.

Posts Tagged ‘anaerobic’

.

Related Posts

.

Related Posts

.

Related Posts

.

Related Posts

BAD NEWS

GOOD NEWS

The Science

.

Conclusion

.

Related Posts

.

.

Related Posts

1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat

Categories

Unilateral / Bilateral

Stance / Body Orientation

Equipment

Position of Load

Range of Motion

Tempo or Speed

Weight of Load as a % of 1 Rep Max Lift

Lifting Surface

Training Volume

Rest Periods

Putting it all together…

.

Related Posts