Today, I'm going to share with you my favorite bodyweight exercises. I've already talked about my favorite TRX and kettlebell exercises, but the disadvantage that these exercises have is that they do require some piece of equipment. With bodyweight exercises, you don't require any equipment at all (with the exception of pull ups and jump rope, but we'll get to that in a bit). Since bodyweight exercises require little to no equipment, it means you can do bodyweight training almost anywhere - at home, in a hotel room, or better yet outside at the park. One study found that exercising outdoors can have a positive effect on mental well being in addition to the physical benefits. The participants in the study reported feeling revitalized, a decrease in negative emotions, and an increase in energy. So if you're looking to mix up your routine, take this bodyweight workout outside. Bodyweight workouts are also good for you if you're just starting to exercise and aren't in great … [Read more...]
My Favorite Kettlebell Exercises
Last week, I talked about my love of the TRX. But my second favorite piece of equipment in gym? It's got to be the kettlebell. Kettlebells were originally farm tools in Russia, and were primarily used to weigh crops in the 18th century. Strongmen used to lift them in feats of strength and competitions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, they're a common strength training at most gyms. Kettlebells allow for lots of exercises that are compound movements, meaning that you engage two or more joints and engage an entire muscle group or multiple muscles. Because of this, you can easily get a full body workout with a single kettlebell. Plus, exercises like the kettlebell swing can make a great cardio workout. One study that was conducted with a women's college soccer team found that those who did kettlebell exercises instead of steady state cardio exercise (meaning, running laps) had an increase in their aerobic capacity compared to the group who did not do kettlebell … [Read more...]
How to Warm Up for Exercise
Sometimes when we're limited for time in the gym, we try to cut out anything extra that's going to take up time. One of the first things to go is usually a proper warm up. In truth, this is probably the last thing you want to exclude from your workout. In fact, it would be better for you to shorten your workout if you're short on time than to skip the warm up. As outlined in Framework by orthopedist Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, the tissues that make up our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints are temperature specific. What that means is that if a muscle or tendon is "cold", then it's stiffer and more brittle, therefore more susceptible to injury like strained muscles. By performing a proper warm up, you raise the temperature of your muscles, making them more flexible, and therefore less likely to strain or pull a muscle. Likewise, a warm up increases the blood flow to your muscles, getting them the nourishment they need to generate energy. This also means that cold, static … [Read more...]
What is HIIT?
Other than being a snappy acronym, what is HIIT? How can you do it? Read below to find out more! An increasingly popular workout nowadays is HIIT, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Basically, this means doing a series of workout intervals with little to no rest in between the sets of exercises. HIIT workouts are normally done in a very short, fixed amount of time. Since one of the biggest obstacles to regularly working out is “lack of time”, HIIT workouts are a great way to overcome that obstacle since they’re relatively short workouts due to the higher intensity. Scientific research has also shown that HIIT workouts have some advantages over steady state cardio workouts, like running, because of the higher caloric expenditure over time. To illustrate what that means, if you went for a 30 minute jog, you're going to burn most of the calories for the workout during that 30 minutes. However, if you performed a 30 minute HIIT workout, … [Read more...]
How Personal Trainers Plan Their Own Workouts
Like all of you, I have a really busy schedule. Besides the time I spend training others, I manage my business, I work a full time job, I do volunteer work each week, I spend time with my family, and I take care of household chores. But scheduling and planning my own workout is just as important as those other activities, because keeping myself healthy and in good shape gives me the energy and availability to help others. So how do I plan my own workouts? Here are the four things I do to keep my workouts on schedule and make them effective: I Put My Workout on My Calendar - I've learned over time that if you’re going to accomplish anything in your busy life, you need to schedule it. My exercise time is booked on my calendar, and is (generally) non-negotiable. I once heard the illustration that if you had to have treatments 3 times per week for a serious illness, would you let anything get in the way of having those treatments? No, you would rearrange your … [Read more...]