Boxes and Bars Workout

I've been feeling the minimal equipment workouts lately! Easy to set up, and get right to business! Here's a new workout that will only require a bench or box, a 15-30 lb bar and timer. It should take you 20-30 minutes to complete, depending on how many rounds you decide to do. See video below for exercise breakdown. Good luck!

Equipment: Timer, Box/Bench, and 15-30lb bar

Set your timer for 8 rounds
One minute of work, 20 seconds rest

Warm up 5-10 minutes

1.Burpee Box Jumps  - Do a burpee and jump up on box landing in a squat with soft knees- jump or step back down

2. Overhead Squat  - Beginners should rest bar on shoulders instead of holding bar up over head until you are confident in a traditional squat. Push bar up into the ceiling, keep hips back and drive through your heels.

3. Overhand Grip Row and Right Leg lift - squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your right booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

4. Underhand Grip Row and Left Leg lift- squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your left booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

5. Bench Bar Pushup with Swivel.   Perform your pushup- keep abs on- opposite knee to shoulder on both sides

6. Lateral Box Jumps- drive off foot that's on the bench.

7. Triceps Bench Dips

8. Bench Taps



Repeat 2-3 times

Stretch and cool down

Balls to the Walls 30 Minute Workout

This workout can be done almost anywhere. All you need is a wall, ball and timer. I'm using an 8 lb medicine ball in my workout today, obviously the lighter the ball the easier, so pick a weight that's challenging. Good luck and let me know how it went! 

Equipment: Open Wall Space, Medicine Ball and Timer

Set your timer for 6 rounds. 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds rest

Complete 3 rounds.

Warm up  5-10 minutes

1. Wall Ball Shots   Squat and toss medicine ball, catch it on your way down

2. Wall Knee Tucks  Abs tight- alternate drawing knee to chest

3. Wall Sit   Squeezing medicine ball between your knees

4. Hand Stand use wall for balance  or Wall Walk ups

5. Wall Glute Press - keep hips lifted and glutes tight

6. Medicine Ball Burpee Pushup Toss

Cool Down and Stretch after your 3rd round

See Video Below for Exercises

Training towards your ideal body when working with a trainer

Everybody has individual goals, tastes and desires. Being a trainer means you really have to listen to what your client's goals are. Some clients want to get faster, build muscle, lose weight, improve flexibility.....  it varies immensely from person to person. We also have different ideas of what our desired body shape is. Some people like a lean look, others curvy, some like to be muscular.... it all depends on the person. That's why it's really important to have good communication with your clients and make sure you are on the same page as far as what you are working towards.

Take my case for example. I spent 2 1/2 years training under a crossfit coach. A few of my goals when I started with him were to learn Olympic lifts, learn kippers ( a type of pullup in crossfit) and lean out, I felt like I was too bulky. I told this to my coach.... What I should of done was show him photos of what I wanted to work towards. To my coach, bulky had a different definition.  Muscular didn't mean bulky to my coach, and in hind site,  bulky meant too muscular to me.

So, my coach had me putting on a ton of muscle....  Did I lose fat? Yes I did. But did I look like I wanted to? No, I looked like the incredible hulk!  I naturally put on muscle pretty easy, and yes I was shredded and strong, but it was not my ideal body type. I wanted a leaner and feminine look.

This experience taught me a lot about truly communicating with my clients and specific training towards specific goals. If you want to have a body like a body builder,  well train like one! If you want to have the strength and flexibility of a ballet dancer, train like a dancer...... We can't fight genetics, some of us will never look like skinny fashion models etc, but  by training realistically and specifically we can come closer to achieve the look we want.

So when you hire a trainer, just like when you go to a new hair stylist, you might want to bring a few photos of your desired look. Make sure your trainer really listens to what your goals are and your motivation behind training. If one of your goals is to do an unassisted pull up, are you doing the appropriate exercises that will get you there? If you want to improve your tennis game, are you doing agility drills and exercises to improve explosive rotation? If you want to lose fat, is your trainer pointing out the importance of diet and nutrition? You also want to do your research and see what your trainer's background is in. If they are an experienced marathoner and their main focus is on training endurance athletes, and you want to get into body building, you may not be the right match.  Look at the condition of your trainer..... I know that someone may have all the knowledge in the world, but it's not a good sign if their job is to motivate and teach you, and they are not practicing what they preach.  If your trainer looks out of shape, don't hire them. Training with a personal trainer shouldn't be all about looks,  it's also about learning to train smartly, safely and improving your health.... but I  can't lie, it's also about getting the body you want.   There's nothing wrong with trying to improve your physique, it boosts your confidence and self esteem and the way others perceive you.

                                               

 

                                                        This was my idea of leaning out:

The photo below was my version of bulky and my trainers idea of what lean was.

Everyone has different interpretations. 

If you want to look like you lift heavy weights, then lift heavy weights!

If you want to look like a long distance runner, train like one. If you want to look like a Sprinter, train like a Sprinter.

If you like the lean look of a dancer or the look of someone who practices Yoga, well train accordingly.

If you want to look like a  beast! Train like Arnold.

Exercise and Cancer- Not a Cure but an Improvement

Hi Jocelyn, 

Thanks so much for your consideration and compassion! The article attached, which I recently completed, is about the benefits of fitness and eating healthy during and after a diagnosis of any kind of cancer. Each different cancer has its limitations, but if one can keep a healthy body, they can have a better chance to overcome this awful disease. I have linked to reputable sources and studies in this field and tailored the article to your blog. Please let me know if you are able to post the article so I can shout it out from my twitter and facebook following in order to give your site more traffic. 

Thanks so much for the help and all you do for these people, 

David



Exercise and Cancer- Not a Cure but an Improvement

Physical fitness is always a good thing; there is no such thing as a time when being physically fit is not a good thing, even when you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, undergoing a difficult treatment regiment, or are in remission and fighting to keep cancer from coming back. http://www.mesothelioma.com/treatment/ mesothelioma treatment

 Physical fitness might not be something you think is possible when you are undergoing difficult treatments that take such a toll on your body, or after treatment when your body is weak, tired and your emotional well being is so fragile. However, physical fitness is something doctors and the National Institute of Cancer believe is beneficial to all cancer patients; suffering or in remission.  http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/physicalactivity 

Physical fitness is beneficial in a number of ways; the first being that it keeps your body healthy. Not only does your body look better from the outside, it is better on the inside when you exercise. Exercise produces a hormone that eliminates negative hormones caused by stress and anxiety. The hormones caused by stress and anxiety negatively impact your immune system, making it more difficult to overcome illness, which is detrimental to cancer treatments and recovery. The hormone produced by exercise helps to build your immune system’s strength, which allows you to feel better when it comes to illness. 



Additionally, exercise hormones are a feel good stimulant in other ways, as well. Exercise hormones make you feel good emotionally and mentally. Exercise makes you feel better about your body and the feeling you get after you exercise is one of pride and accomplishment; you know you’ve just done something good for yourself and it makes you feel better about your decisions and yourself. What this all amounts to is a better quality of life; cancer takes so much from a person and exercise is a way to get some of what your cancer took from you back. Cancer may cause you stress and anxiety, worry and depression but you can make yourself feel more like yourself by exercising. 



While it is not always going to be possible to exercise during the course of your treatment or afterward, it is important to exercise when you can. Even the most minimal amount of physical activity will have you feeling better. A simple walk up and down your street will help. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator at your next doctor appointment will help. Parking in the farthest spot from the store and walking the length of the parking lot will help. It really does not take much to improve your mood, quality of life and health when it comes to exercise. In fact, 20 short minutes a day makes a huge impact on your health; your mind, body and spirit.




 Almost all of us know someone that has battled or is battling  cancer! Thanks David for sharing this!


 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/physicalactivity