Quirky Fitness Invention

Dear readers,

Please visit my Quirky page and vote on my Work Chair Workouts adapter invention. Help me bring fitness to the office.

Follow the link below and give me a vote.

http://www.quirky.com/invent/824909/action/vote/query/sort=ending_soon&categories=all

Thanks!

Workout and Eat Healthy, Be Kind

Workout, Eat Healthy, Be Kind....

Not that everyone shouldn't always be kind, but I mean this in the sense of fitness and nutrition. Why is the weight room a place of awkward staring and obvious judgments, when it could be a place of community and encouragement?

Everyone starts somewhere. Just because you've made it to most peoples goals and dreams doesn't give you the right to judge and glare at people getting started. You could be the difference maker in someone else's transformation with a simple kind comment for the day. Something like "hey, let me know if you'll need a spot," "no? alright, keep up the good work," could be the difference between someone giving up or coming back with confidence for the next month.

Little things can make the difference. Keep an open mind for opportunities to make the difference in someone's day.

Circuit Workout: Time for Reps

Did a killer circuit workout with my girlfriend at the gym today. This is also where I came to the realization that my lungs are completely out of shape. Winter sucks! It's so hard to work everything you want, mainly cardio. I might be opting for that winter bulk training.

Anyways, about that workout.

I'm not going to juice up this description with reasoning's and explanations. If you want to know why we did what we did, go back and read some older posts to figure out where I'm coming from. Whoa sassy! Who am I?

Anyways, getting to the workout. Here it is. But before I start, (Get to the point already! You must be saying. It's because I care) the second exercise I'm just going to call "core twists" because I don't know what it's actually called. Please comment if you know. Start in an up pushup position then rotate to the side and reach for the ceiling, hold for 2sec back to start other side up for 2sec, and so on.

As always, start with a good dynamic warm-up.

The workout:

1. Pushups for 45sec - 15sec rest
2. Core Twists for 45sec - 15sec rest
3. Pulse Squats for 45sec - 15sec rest
4. One Leg side-to-side hops for 45sec -15sec rest

5. Sprint 1/4 mile - 30sec rest.

Repeat 5 times.

If you're a real badass switch exercise #4 to jump tucks. ...We started that way but couldn't make it.

Eat Vegetables Don't Be a Vegetable

Living an active lifestyle isn't just about going to the gym everyday. Being adventurous and spending your off time in the right way can be the difference maker in seeing the weight change you're looking for.

According to Self.com the average person will burn around 250 calories in 60min of general household cleaning.

See where you stand: http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/cleaning_house

The changes don't stop there. Think about different things you could be doing in your down time to not only burn calories, but also to be productive. If indoor cleaning was 250 calories per hour, imagine how many calories you'll burn when you're outside working on your yard.

Obviously all cleaning, yard work, and labor work are, without a doubt, going to help you cut the pounds. But, don't confuse these things as a replacement for proper weight training and cardio. At the end of the day, eating clean and working out on a regular basis is still the best way to look the way you want.

Winter Wonder Land

Winter is just about here people. This is the season when we: eat like crap for the holidays; skip the gym because it gets dark at 5pm; And avoid outside exercises because it's cold and uncomfortable. If you've ever felt like you lose a little weight but it always comes back, this season might be your downfall. Go back and read over some of my older posts and start whipping out every trick in the book you need to stay motivated.

By far the most popular post I have for consistent motivation is http://betterlifefitnessandfood.blogspot.com/2013/08/great-trick-for-consistent-workout.html written back in August. You might find that this specific trick becomes very interesting around this time of the year.

That being said, it is important to take a break from your primary sport or exercise once in a blue moon for a week or two. Take advantage of the bad weather and daylight savings time to try new things and give your body a little bit of a rest. I do strongly encourage everyone to try new things! Perhaps swimming will become your winter exercise. If you're primarily a cardio person, winter could be the perfect time to cut out the cardio and build up the muscle (or vice versa).

No matter what you do, just keep on doing. We aren't bears, we don't need to fatten up for the winter. So, stop telling yourself that it's ok and you'll burn it off come spring. Start thinking like that and you'll just be weak and flabby come shorts season.

REST!

If you're like me, taking a rest day is easier said than done. There is no stopping, one does not simple stop doing things for an entire day! Good thing you don't have to, well, not exactly.

It's absolutely vital to take appropriate rest days. I'm not saying you shouldn't do anything on your days off. What I'm saying is, that no matter what you are training, you MUST take 1-3 days off that specific activity per week. There's a long list of reasons why rest days are so important. The obvious is that resting muscle groups that were worked the day before gives your body the necessary time it needs to recover and build. What happens when you exercise is you are actually tearing your muscle fibers. Giving the recently worked muscle groups 48hrs to recover ensures that your muscles have rebuilt and are ready for use, optimizing the amount you gain per workout.

Secondly, resting prevents injuries. Depending on your workouts more or less rest will be required. Certain activities like rock climbing are often over worked, because while a climbers muscles feel fine, the underlying danger comes in the tendons, which we typically don't think of needing rest.

In addition to the physical benefits of taking a rest day, comes the psychological benefits of it. Not only can you overwork your body, but you can overwork your mind. Taking a rest day every once in a while will help keep things fresh, and help keep you motivated. Remember, if you're not a pro athlete, working out isn't your job. So have fun with it. Never forget that.

Lastly, I need to emphasize that taking a "rest" day doesn't mean doing nothing. I personally find that near impossible. People should always be doing something. If your a rock climber or lifter, your off days should be spent doing other activities like running or hiking. And vice versa, if you're a runner or road biker, your off days should be spent strength training.

The moral of the story is, take a break! Non pro athletes workout to improve their quality of life and getting hurt doesn't fit in that at all.

Explosive, Muscle Burning, Lung Busting, Workout

The workout I'm posting today is the type of workout that should be incorporated into your regiment at least once a week. The primary focus is explosive power and fast paced repetition to increase lung capacity, power, and recovery time. Basically this is the difference between being in shape and being an athlete. These types of movements translate to all sports making you quicker, stronger, and able to outlast your opponents.

Example Workout:
Like all workouts start with a slow run for about 3-4min and a dynamic stretch. This is more important for this style of workout than any other due to the nature of the movements.

Start this workout doing the following exercises in order:
Rest time is a casual walk from one station to the next. This is more of an extension of the warm-up to prepare your body for what's to come

10 pushups - 10 bodyweight squats - 10 pull-ups - 10 frog jumps - 10 dips - 20 bodyweight lunges

Rest and stretch out

Now increase the difficulty minutely to by adding a small pop to the following exercises:
10 popping pushups (hands 1 inch off ground) - 10 slow squat jumps - 5 hoping pull-ups (hands elevate off bar)

Take a breather and stretch out anything still feeling tight.

Full Intensity: I must emphasize that while each part of the workout is without breaks, this is no reason to sacrifice form! This is NOT about doing the exercises as fast as you can, but rather doing them as explosively as you can.

Part 1: No Breaks
10 dips with explosive hop
12 tuck jumps (this is not a full squat, as soon as your toes touch the ground explode back up, bringing your knees to your chest)
10 dips with explosive hop
12 tuck jumps

2 min rest

Part 2: No Breaks
10 clapping pull-ups
10 squat jumps (High as you can!)
10 clapping pull-ups
10 squat jumps

2 min rest

Part 3: No Breaks
10 two handed kettlebell swings (explode out from the hips; arms like cables)
10 slow paces, but explosive medicine ball slams
10 two handed kettlebell swings
10 slow paces, but explosive medicine ball slams

2 min rest

Part 4: No Breaks
10 clapping pushups
20 scissor lunges
10 clapping pushups
20 scissor lunges
10 clapping pushups
20 scissor lunges

2 min rest

Part 5: No Breaks
10 burpees with full pushups
20 Russian twist slamming the medicine ball on each side
10 brupees
20 Russian twist

2 min rest

Finish the workout with a muscle burnout
Holding the medicine ball: 40 pulse squats
20 diamond pushups
Holding the medicine ball: 40 pulse squats
20 diamond pushups

DONE! If you did the workout right, taking no break, pushing as hard as you could, exploding as high off the ground in each rep as you could, then you're lungs and your muscles should be screaming.

That Terrible Thing Called Running: Workout

I just got back from a distance run, which I typically don't do a lot of. But, this particular exercise really broke up the most grueling part of running, the mental part. I'm very much the kind of person that is my own worst enemy when it comes to distance running. I don't bring music and I spend the whole time thinking about what I'm doing, how every step feels, how every breath hurts, how easy it is to stop, but yet I keep going. How? Why? That's really what this workout is about.

What I did:
Today was my rest day. I've been working hard and realized my body desperately needed a break. In my typical fashion I was unable to not workout for one day so when went for a light run. I headed down the Morgantown rail-trail and decided to run four miles, two miles out, two miles back. I started very slow (9min mile) then took a quick breather and stretched out. The next mile was still slow but much faster (8min mile). Again I stopped and stretched. Not long, but enough to get my lungs back to normal. The next mile I ran in 7min and then again I took a short break, barely long enough to get my lungs and heart rate back down. The last mile I picked it up again and finished just over 6min. Then I was done.

What Made this Work:
Seeing as how the mental aspect of running is the most difficult challenge for me, this style of workout was significantly easier because, by shortening the distance I now had an end in sight. I always knew, at around my current pace, I would have say 2min left. "I can run for 2 more minutes." And by starting out slow it, not only warmed me up, but it also gave me a time to beat. I had a comparison to base my currently mile off of. I ran the last mile like this and ran a 7 minute mile, if I run this next mile the same but just a little faster at the end I'll be sure to beat that time. The workout gave me a slow progression, goals, and perspective. Those three things are what make the workout so mentally effective.

What you can do:
I would recommend a similar workout to anyone suffering from the same unbearable dislike for distance running as me. Start with a slow mile, like REALLY slow. Then every mile take just a little bit of time off your run. Take small breaks in between miles to relax and clear your head. Then think about the mile you just ran and move just a little bit faster. You'll be surprised at how much easier this makes running.

Suicides: Parking Lot

The following is a suicides workout. Don't jump ahead and kill yourself, though you might want to after this workout. Suicides are essentially a continuous sprint: sprint to a line, touch the line, and explode out of your turn. Sprint back to the start, plant your foot, explode out of the turn sprint to a different line, and so on.

Anyways, most people either know what a suicide is, or have heard of it. If your going out of your way to read a fitness blog, I'll bet you get the point. But here's a few things to remember: When doing suicides always turn in alternating directions to balance out your body. This means that, for the sake of the example, you are always sprinting East to West and West to East. Every time you turn you should be turning towards the North. So one way you are planting with you right foot and the other with your left. This is not only important for keeping you legs in equilibrium, but also your core because you are touching your hands down the line and will surprisingly get one hell of a core workout out of it. Which brings me to my second reminder. Touch the line!! Like anything else you are doing, you need to make the most out of your workout. Don't cheat yourself, there is no reason to display laziness when working out, it defeats the purpose. Lastly, make sure you are exploding out of the turns, lazy, half effort turns, will completely defeat the purpose of doing suicides. You mine as well go jog for a 30min because it will be the same thing. No! You need to touch the line and explode out of the turn as fast as you can. This is the single most important part of the workout. The part that separates it from anything else. Build that explosive power through your whole body, drive with your legs, push with you core, and pull with your arms!!

This workout will build the real world, game time, strength, speed, and stamina, needed in any sport. No other workout will replicate the movements and the pace that you'll need on any athletic field like this. The turns, the quick bursts or power, the brief moments of rest, and the quick recovery needed to go full speed all game.

Parking Lot Workout:
Parking lots....the perfectly convenient, already set-up place for suicides. Be as creative as you want with this, go out to any empty parking lot and make up a suicides workout using the lines. Use a few, use them all, up to you. Bellow is one I've made up for you if you don't feel like being creative....it's a killer.

First, you'll need a watch. Set a time that is appropriate for your recovery (I chose 1 min). Next, bring a cone, or a bottle, or whatever to mark specific lines with. It can be hard to focus on your target line during these sprints.

Start:
Phase 1
Sprint to the first line, then back (don't stop)
Turn! Second line, then back
Turn! Third line, then back
Turn! Last line, then back (if your in a really big parking lot, just use line 10) Turn and back. This is a long sprint and it's OK to stride out a bit, but make sure you still explode out of the turn.

1 min rest. 

Phase 2
Sprint to line 3, then back
Turn! line 4, then back
Turn! line 3, then back
Turn! line 2, then back (sprint through the finish!!)

1 min rest.

20 Spiderman push-ups

1 min rest.

Phase 1 (Repeat phase 1 above)

1 min rest.

Phase 2 (Repeat phase 2 above)

1 min rest.

20 Spiderman push-ups

1 min rest.

Phase 3!!!
Line 2
Line 2
Last line
Last line

DONE!!!
That is approximately 20min of working out and if you can crank that out, you're a BEAST!! Remember to do a dynamic stretch before and a static stretch after. Foam roll when you get home.

Whatever YOU want: Just be Active

For so many people, motivation is by far the most difficult part about staying or getting back in shape. We always hear things like, "I hate running," "I don't like lifting," "the gym is so intimidating," and "I'm not built for that." Like ol' Benjamin Franklin  said, “he that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”   And lets face the facts, no matter what you tell yourself, the excuse has nothing to do with the activity, but everything to do with your unwillingness to make an effort to try. To try something new, to try something you are scared to do, to try and find something you would like to do. These are un-rational fears that we make up in our own minds to cover up the laziness and weakness we are afraid to see in ourselves.

I'm not saying that you have to force yourself to do something you hate. I've said it before and I'll say it again, find something that makes you happy and stick to it, because being happier and healthier is the goal. Most of us, and certainly no one reading this, is a professional athlete. That means we don't have to "train." You aren't training to be competitive, you're living to be happier.

Being in shape and healthy doesn't mean you have to go and avoid awkward eye contact in the gym everyday in fear that someone is judging you. Find something that you truly enjoy, something that you can do that doesn't even seem like working out. If you find something like that, something that will keep you active and happy almost everyday, that's all you need to do.

If you aren't one for working out, but maybe you like being outside, perhaps walking the dog, make an effort to hop on your computer for a couple minutes and find a new place to go. A State Park to go hiking in, a trail you never knew about, maybe you just like looking at houses and you can just walk around different neighborhoods dreaming of your next home. I'm trying to say that it really doesn't matter. The difference between, staying the way you are, and living a long, fulfilling, healthy life is staying active (and eating healthy).  Plus, you could and probably will save thousands and thousands of dollars in doctor visits and medications.

Stop making excuses and start living better today, not tomorrow. "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

Sprint Workout # who knows anymore

Alright people it's been a while since I posted a true workout so here we go!

Like every workout, begin with a proper warm-up consisting of dynamic stretches. Feel free to make up your own or spend more time on tight and sore muscles, but here's what I do...

• Jog a half mile. First 1/4 mile at whatever slow speed is comfortable. Second 1/4 mile, pick up the speed just a little bit to somewhere around, or just over, your mile pace.
• Designate a distance of about 15 yards to do your dynamic stretches in.
• High knees; Butt kicks; A-skip; B-skip; Lunges (down and back); light skip; power skip for height; Toy soldiers; Grapevine squats. Remember to take your time through each of these. They are not meant to get you tired.
• 100yrd slow run. 100yrd progressive increase (50% max speed to 50yrds, 80% to finish)....x2

Workout: Pyramid
Take the below sprint workout at whatever pace you like. But pick your goal times prior to the workout and reset your watch during the walking phases. They should be done at roughly 95% max speed. Close to max but not killing yourself after the first sprint.

• Sprint 100m............walk 100m
• Sprint 100m............walk 100m
• Sprint 200m............walk 200m
• Sprint 200m............walk 200m
• Sprint 400m............walk 400m
• Sprint 400m............walk 400m
• Sprint 200m............walk 200m
• Sprint 200m............walk 200m
• Sprint 100m............walk 100m
• Sprint 100m............walk 100m

Done! No need for more that is one hell of a workout. Stretch out, foam roll, drink your protein shake and rest up for tomorrow.

Have Fun: Be Creative

I feel like I don't talk about enjoying your workouts and your lifestyle nearly enough. Always so focused on writing informative posts and workouts I get distracted by all the information, programing, and scheduling, causing me to forget the real reason I made this blog, and the main reason I workout. It's fun!

Don't forget it! Maybe write your goals down somewhere, stick it to your fridge so you see it from time to time, but don't ever forget the overall goal. Happiness! Isn't that, after all, the reason we workout. Whether it is because we enjoy working out and being active, or maybe so that we look and feel better, making us more confident and happier people.

Remember to have fun with your workouts along the way. So many people get caught up in goals and progression, often time thinking that being miserable is the only way to success. Not at all. Don't beat yourself down during your workouts. It will only make them harder, less fun, and greatly increase the odds that you'll give up and never reach your goals. Or perhaps you'll make it there and then just stop working out because you found it so horrible.

There are ways to make your workouts fun. There are ways to live a high calorie burning lifestyle while spending minimal amounts of time in the gym. But you have to figure it out for yourself. Everyone is different and what is a great idea for a fun active lifestyle to one person might sound terrible idea to another.

Schedule activities! Get a group of friends or a friend and schedule active things to do. Go kick a soccer ball around for old times sake. Or make up obstacle courses on playgrounds. Get online and look up parks nearby to go hiking in. Try new things! Maybe rock climbing would be a fun new experience for you an a friend. The possibly are endless if you aren't afraid to look. Living an active lifestyle like this could easily be the difference between losing your belly for good or losing your belly and getting it back.

Start Foam Rolling!

I have to start this post by regrettably admitting that my girlfriend was right, yet again. Aren't they always? She has been trying to get me to start foam rolling for literally a year and a half....sorry? I, of course, never listened until I was motivated by injury. I experienced what I believe to be soreness and sharp pains along the outside of my left leg. After talking to some friends and doing some online research I determined that it was pain radiating from my IT-band, likely due to either partial tearing or inflammation. Next step of course was to get this fixed up, I had races coming up and couldn't afford the setback. Turns out that IT-band is a common place for injuries amongst runners, but it is also fairly difficult to stretch out. The best way to stretch it out is with a foam roller.

Why a foam roller?
Foam rolling essentially replicates a deep tissue massage. It lengthen and stretches out muscles and tendons which increases blood flood and breaks up any scar tissue build up. Which in turn, makes for faster recovery, less soreness later, and of course injury prevention, as I found out too late...thanks to my hard head.

As a side note, remember that foam rolling is a compliment to warming up and proper static stretches, not a replacement. It is recommend to foam roll after a workout to lengthen the tight muscles and speed up recovery.

Don't roll your eyes at this suggestion as I did for very long time. Get on this now, before you get injured, not after. It only takes 10 minutes.

Here is an article by Men's Health that explains foam rolling even more: http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/foam-rolling

Here is great link that describes everything foam rolling, including how to do it: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/flexibilityandstretching/ss/FoamRoller.htm

Purchase of foam roller - $40, not having to admit to my girlfriend that she was right - priceless

If only.

Pull-up workout

Like everything else, make sure you are properly warmed up before this workout.

This workout consists of two different exercises separated by a 10sec break. The first exercise is 4 pull-ups done as: 1 regular pull-up, 1 L-pull-up , 1 regular pull-up. and 1 L-pull-up. Then take a 10 sec break. Then start the second exercise: 1 regular pull-up, 1 clap pull-up, 1 regular pull-up, 1 clap pull-up. Then a 10 sec break and repeat exercise 1. Continue this for 12 sets, or however many you can do whether it's more or less.

The Point
The point of this workout is to work a variety of different muscle types utilized during pull-ups and to also allow your muscle to fill up with  lactic acid during the 10sec break, making the exercises more difficult as you try to fight off the never ending pump.

Form
Maintain good form throughout the entire workout. Meaning no half pull-ups or kipping pull-ups. An L-pull-up should be done with your legs held directly out in front of you with no bend in the knees. For exercise one, try not to bend your knees at all; you do your regular pull-ups then bring your legs straight out in front of you as apposed to bringing your knees up first. For the second exercise remember to maintain control. The two clapping pull-ups are going to make you want to do the other two regular pull-ups fast. Don't do this, stay controlled.

The Breakdown
1) -Exercise 1: 1 regular, 1 L, 1 regular, 1 L
10sec break
2) -Exercise 2: 1 regular, 1 clap, 1 regular, 1 clap
10sec break
3) -Exercise 1
10sec break
4) -Exercise 2
10sec break
5) -Exercise 1
10sec break
6) -Exercise 2
Continue until you finish 12 sets, or whenever you get pumped.

Make it Easier
If you need to make this workout easier just alter some of the exercises. Instead of L-pull-ups, you can do bent knee pull-ups. And instead of clapping pull-ups slide your hands in on the second pull-up and slide them out on the fourth pull-up.

Don't Over Do It!
If you are maxing out on a workout like this be sure to allow your arms a sufficient rest period before engaging in similar activities to allow for muscle growth, and to prevent injuries and tendonitis.

"Distance" Interval Run

I have talked about the benefits of interval training instead of distance running before. Better for burning fat, better for building muscle, and less impact than distance. "Yeah, yeah, yeah" you say, "but I still need to prepare for my half marathon." Interval training still works! The point of doing interval style workouts is to keep your heart-rate up the entire time and your lungs rarely get a chance to fully recover. Trust me, you can be more than prepared for a half marathon by never running more than a half mile in one stretch.

Perhaps you enjoy distance running, not only for the health benefits, but just because you like being outside and seeing different things on your run. You can still do an interval style workout while out on your "distance" run.

Here's some workouts I would recommend when doing your distance run. Do these for as long and far as you like.

1. Walk for 1min, jog for 1min, fast run for 1min (about 75% max speed)....repeat.

2. Walk for 30sec, jog for 30sec, fast run for 30sec (about 75% max speed)....repeat.

3. Walk for 30sec, jog for 1min, fast run for 30sec (about 75% max speed)....repeat.

4. Walk for 1min, sprint for 1min....repeat.

More circuit style distance runs:

1. Jog for 1min, sprint for 30sec, stop and do 10 scissor lunges and 10 push-ups....repeat.

2. Walk for 30sec, sprint for 1min, walk for 30sec, 15 body-weight squats, 10 push-ups....repeat.


As you can see, they are all similar. The point is to allow your muscles enough time to oxygenate and recover without letting your heart-rate return to normal.

Make up your own and start having fun with "distance."

How in shape are you? Master your bodyweight

Attempting to determine how "in shape" you are is a weird and tricky objective. After all, what does it mean to be "in shape?" Are all professional athletes "in shape" even though a world strong man probably can't run a 7min mile? Being "in shape" really depends on your goals, but for most normal people mastering your body should be the first step before attempting to tackle any other fitness goes.

Bodyweight Before Weights:
Achieving a mastery over your own weight is not only important for measuring your fitness level, but it is also very important in preventing injury. If you cannot do a bodyweight squat with perfect 90 degree form and a locked out back, do not get under a barbell and risk injury. Start your fitness goals by first achieving your bodyweight goals.

Where to Start:
If you are a true beginner and are looking for a place to start grab a friend or a mirror and work at first being able to do 10 perfect push-ups and 10 perfect bodyweight squats. Why a mirror or a friend? So often, especially with beginners, people see others doing exercises and attempt them, either not knowing proper form or not realizing what they look like when attempting certain exercises. Having a mirror or a friend will help you correct your form early on so that doing them incorrectly does not become a habit or muscle memory, making it significantly harder to fix later.

Doing exercises correctly is important, not only to prevent injury, but also to get the most out of your workouts. If you spend three weeks at the gym, I bet you want to see three weeks of results. Don't waste your time, get a friend or a mirror and make sure that you are doing exercises and lifts correctly.

Remember, even if you've been working out for a long time, occasionally it can be a good idea to reassess your form to make sure nothing has changed over time.

Rock Climbing Training Program

Monday: Upper body lifts that oppose the muscle groups used in climbing. Bench press; shoulder press; dip; skull-crushers; pushups. Sets of 3 at 8-12 repetitions

Tuesday: Morning distance run. Evening rock climbing (bouldering) ending with endurance based hangboard workout: Feet up on wall or chair in front of you to reduce weight on fingers then walk you hands up and down the seams in the hangboard touching your hip in between each movement to simulate the actual amount of time spent on a hold. Do this 3-4 times for any given amount of time depending on skill level.

Wednesday: Lower body lifts: lunges; squats; goblet squats; figure-8's; calf raises. Sets of 3 at 5-10 repetitions.

Thursday: Morning distance run. Evening rock climbing (endurance, on ropes if possible). This will be your primary endurance day. Focus on long period of time running laps on your local top-roping gym.

Friday: OFF

Weekend: Get outside and do some real rock climbing. From a training perspective, nothing else compares giving you the real world experiences to improve your technical skills.


If you are looking for an explanation for anything within the above workout read the previous post about Non-Specific Training for Rock Climbers - http://betterlifefitnessandfood.blogspot.com/2013/08/non-specific-training-for-rock-climbers.html

Non-Specific Training for Rock Climbers

Everyone knows that rock climbing is an incredible workout and perhaps one of the highest calorie burning workouts, but once a dedicated rock climber, what else is there? When a person firsts gets sucked into the world of rock climbing and discovers their new obsession it just seems like everything else gets in the way. Trust me, I've been there. The following post explains the importance of climbing less, but training more, to improve long term results.

Rock climbing as a sport is actually very tricky to train for as it requires a little bit of attention in a lot of areas. A major problem that I see from most climbers is that they do zero additional training outside of climbing to strengthen their bodies. Most climbers spends such absurd hours in the climbing gym that they actually do their bodies more harm than good.

My suggestion to anyone rock climbing, whether you are just starting out or have been climbing for years, is to cut down on the intensity of you rock climbing training and increase the intensity of your non-specific training (weightlifting, running, swimming, etc.).

Why? Rock climbing isn't necessarily something that our bodies are meant to do, and it is very different from anything else that we do. Tendon development is so incredibly important for climbing strength and longevity and yet they take FOREVER to develop and strengthen. This is where most climbers go wrong. In a rush to get better most rock climbers quickly develop the hand strength to pull on the smallest of holds before ever stopping to think about the underlying risk of injury and long term destruction of tendons causing massive setbacks and pain for years.

How to Avoid the Setbacks:
Beyond just stretching and warming up, new climbers especially, should be focusing on the movements of climbing and less on progression. Save the strength training for later. You will get better, it just takes time. Allow your tendons to catch up.

How to Train:
Like I mentioned above, reduce the intensity of your actual rock climbing and increase the intensity in non-specific training. What I'm talking about is cutting back on your rock climbing to around three to four days of rock climbing a week (including weekends) and spending no more than two hours in the climbing gym per session. On you off days focus on additional workouts like weightlifting and running.

Why Weightlifting:
Climbing does puts a lot of stress on your tendons. Not just in your fingers, but also on the rest of your body. It is important to counter the motions of rock climbing with specific lifts (pushing lifts) to balance out your body, reduce the pressure on your tendons, and become a stronger climber.

It is a very common myth that weightlifting makes you bulky and heavy. This can be true, if that is what you are lifting for. But think how many people try relentlessly to bulk up with no success despite spending hours and hours in the gym. Lifting can actually be very beneficial to rock climbing and your bodies overall health, allowing you to continue climbing for years to come.

When lifting, focus primarily on pushing lifts to counter the motions you work so frequently rock climbing. Examples: bench press, shoulder press, squats, leg extensions, dips, etc.

Running:
Running will help in a handful of ways, but I recommend it specifically for rock climbing because it will help keep your muscles lean and also keep your lungs in shape helping you better control your breathing.

Swimming:
Swimming is probably the best directly related workout to climbing. It will do wonders for the health of your body as a whole and is also amazing for your lungs. As a rock climber, if you chose to do a significant amount of swimming to aid in you rock climbing I would recommend being cautious to not over train at the climbing gym as they work similar muscle groups.

Check out my rock climbing training program here: http://betterlifefitnessandfood.blogspot.com/2013/08/rock-climbing-training-program.html

Great Trick for Consistent Workout Motivation

Here's a great trick I thought of for anyone looking for consistent motivation:

Think back to the last time you missed a workout and ask yourself why. Sleep in? Too "busy." Your show was on TV. I bet you don't come up with many good reasons that aren't solvable with something as simple as an earlier bed time or better time management.

This is going to work best for anyone that has a roommate of some kind, but will also work if you live alone.

At the end of every single day that you do not workout take a sticky-note or piece of paper and write "Today I did not workout because_______________. (Plus the date and your name)" Take that piece of paper and put it on the refrigerator. Leave it there until the next night. If you are really curious keep your excuses in a box to look back on at the end of the month.

If you have a roommate tell them what you are doing, and maybe have them join you. Doing this experiment will force you to see the excuses that you make up day after day. You will see these excuses and so will other people, so they better be good ones. You will find yourself skipping less workouts knowing that later you will have to write down why you couldn't do it.

This will certainly be an eye opening experiment for people that live alone, and potentially life changing for people with roommates. I would recommend trying this out for at least one month. After that you will probably be more aware of the way your own mind works and more adept to being self motivated.

Try it out!

Facebook Page

Check out the A Better Life: Fitness and Food Facebook Page. Here I post links to all the Blogs posts as well as other fitness related links from other pages, including a few funny memes.

https://www.facebook.com/abetterlifefitnessandfood

Sprints and Circuit: Track OR Field

I designed the following workout to build speed and explosive power. It can be done in any open area though I personally prefer an outside track or turf field.

Like all my workouts, start with a dynamic warm-up. See previous workouts for warm-up descriptions.

The first six sprints are essentially a step up from the warm-up to help you open up your stride. Focus on form! Head up, relax the muscles in your face and stretch out your stride. These sprints cover about 100m or roughly the length of a soccer field.

-Three stage progressive run: break up the 100m into three evenly separated sections. We'll say around 30m. For the first 30m run at about 50% max speed. When you reach the 30m mark pick up your speed to 70% until the 60m mark and then pick up the pace to 90% for the remainder of the 100m. Do this two times.

50%__________70%___________90%___________100m.......x2 (walk back rests)

-Two stage progressive run: Just like the previous two sprints the next two also cover 100m. These are two stage, meaning there are two speeds as apposed to the three speeds in the above sprint. Run at 50% for 50m and when you hit that mark really try and make the fast turnover to 95% for the remaining 50m. Do not slowly speed up. The point is to work on your turnover speed.

50%_________________95%__________________100m.........x2 (walk back rests)

-Two stage reverse run: Reverse does not mean running backwards. It simply means that you are starting out fast and then slowing down, or striding out. This one is also two stages but the first 50m is 95% (fast off the line) and the second 50m is at 70%. Really try to relax and focus on your form for the second 50m.

95%_________________70%__________________100m........x2 (walk back rests)

2 minute break

Circuit: For the following circuit there are no breaks. Your rest comes after each rotation of the circuit during a 200m jog, or down and back on a soccer field.

-10 dynamic push-ups
-10 regular push-ups
-10 squat jumps
-10 regular squats
-Jog 200m
Repeat the about circuit three times!

2 minute break
- Do five 30m 100% sprints with walk back breaks
2 minute break
- Rolling plank (1min center, 30sec left, 30sec right, 1min center)
- 30 second pulse squats
- Rolling plank
- 30 second pulse squats

Done!! Stretch!

Sprints + Bodyweight Circuit

Here's a beast sprinting and bodyweight workout I made up. Try it out and unleash the athlete inside you!

Start with your usual dynamic warm-up. I am talking about a half mile jog, high knees, A-skip, B-skip, lunges, grapevine squats, toy soldiers, power skips, 100m jog into a 100m 80% run, followed by fence drills. Take your time through all this. It is meant to be a warm-up, not to get you tired.

The first part of the workout is intended for a track, but if you don't have an open track nearby use a field (soccer field, football field, there is always one).

Sprints
- Starting off, work on your turnover rate. Meaning, decreasing the time it takes you to go from slow to fast when already in motion. Set up at marker at about 50m. Run 50m at 70% and when you hit that marker kick it up to 95% as fast as you can running through the finish. Then take a walking rest back and continue this three times.

_____________70%_____________50m______________95%____________100m..........3x

- Next, work on your take off speed. Using the same 50m marker, but this time starting from a standstill and driving immediately into 95-100% until you hit the marker. Then slow it down at the 50m spot continuing an 85% stride through the end. Again, you get a walking back rest and do this three times.

_____________95-100%________50m______________85%____________100m..........3x

- Finish off this sprint workout with four full 100m sprints with walk back rests.

Bodyweight Circuit
For this circuit there will be four exercises. Scissor lunges, push-ups, jump squats, burpees. Set up two stations 50m apart. Start by doing 20 scissor lunges (total, not per leg) at station 1; run to station 2 and do 20 push-ups. Run back to station 1 and do 20 jump squats; run back to station 2 and do 10 burpees (jump!). Continue this until you have done each exercise 3 times. You can adjust the repetitions if need be. Focus on your form!! You will get tired but don't lose it.

Station 1 (scissor lunge & jump squats)_________50m_________Station 2 (push-ups &burpees)
Going down and back twice is 1 rep. Do 3 reps.

Finish with a light cool down and static stretch.
Get to it!!

Wake Up Better: Eat Breakfast

One massive mistake people make when trying to lose weight is skipping breakfast! Don't skip breakfast people! If you are trying to accomplish anything, whether it is bulking up, toning down, losing weight, or just trying to have more energy every day, you need to eat breakfast. It is hands down the most important meal of the day.

Eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism when you wake up, gives energy for the day, and makes you less hungry throughout the day. Simply put, when your body has food going into it your metabolism is working harder. Meaning, eating a big breakfast, and continuing to eat will actually allow you to lose weight while eating more. Who would have guessed?? Actually, a recent article out of Tel Aviv University explains just why breakfast is so good for you and there are incredible health benefits beyond just the weight lose. According to the article link below eating a healthy breakfast lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. After monitoring two groups of women over 12 weeks, those who ate breakfast lost on average 11.2 more pounds more than those who did not eat breakfast. Read more about this study and the stunning results that will make breakfast your favorite meal of the day, if it wasn't already!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2385383/Could-fry-good-Scientists-discover-eating-big-breakfast-prevents-diabetes-high-blood-pressure.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Food = Energy

More Food: Less Energy Substitutes
You skipped breakfast because you are trying to lose weight? Now you are at work tired and worthless so you start chugging energy drinks and coffee. This happens all the time and it is extremely counterproductive and unhealthy. Consider first what goes into your energy drinks: caffeine, B-12, and sugar. That is essentially all that energy drinks are. This is a blast of momentary energy that will leave you jittery and shaking for about an hour or two and leave you dragging and defeated shortly after. Not to mention eating processed sugars isn't a part of any diet. And I'm talking about the same processed sugars that most Americans put in their coffee every day! If you are looking for another reason to get off the energy drinks, think about this: two to three days after drinking an energy drinks your heart will sometimes show a small heart murmur on an EKG....try and tell me that's normal.

To be clear, I am not saying that coffee is bad, but if you are going to drink coffee drink it black or with milk. Avoid putting sugar and sweeteners in anything.

Protein Breakfast
Eating a breakfast with protein will help keep you fuller longer. This will also help fuel your muscles and allow them to work harder and burn up more fat. Eggs, bacon, ham, steak, protein pancakes, and nuts are all great examples of protein breakfast foods that will keep you from getting hungry just a couple hours later.

More Early
Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! So, if you are going to go big for any meal during the day, make it breakfast. You have all day to burn up that energy (and you will).

Summary
- Breakfast kick starts your metabolism for the day and gives you the energy you need.
- Protein early in the day will help keep you fuller longer.
- Avoid unhealthy energy substitutes like energy drinks and sugar.

Pyramid Workout

Pyramid Workout.

The follow pyramid workout consists of four exercises: dumbbell clean and press, squats at 75-80% of your bodyweight, pull-ups, and push-ups.

Start with 1 repetition of each (1 with each arm for db clean and press), then 2, then 3 and so on till you get to round ten, then do ten repetitions again and work your way back down to 1 rep of each. There is no rest in between unless you need it but try to push through the pain. You can vary the dumbbell weight as you get tired. Example: You could start with 60s and work down to 40s for the 8,9,10,10,9,8 rounds.

Pyramid Workout compliments of Trevor Wolfe! Thanks for the suggestion!!

Push-up & Squat Challenge!

Here's my push-up & squat challenge! Lets see what you can do! This is a non-stop body-weight challenge. See the progression below and see how far you can get.

1-push-up, stand up, 2-squats, back down,
2-push-ups, stand up, 4-squats, back down,
3-push-ups, stand up, 6-squats, back down,
4-push-ups, stand up, 8-squats, back down,
5-push-ups, stand up, 10-squats, back down,
6-push-ups, stand up, 12-squats, back down....And so on!!

How many can you??

Comment below and let everyone know how far you got.

Looking for a New Goal/Challenge? Here a Few Ideas

Training for a specific event or competition is a great way to push your body and stay motivated. Below is a list of ideas of events and competitions that you can try!

Tough Mudder: http://toughmudder.com/
I have ran two Tough Mudders so far and it is a blast! Depending on where and when you do it will determine the difficulty of the course. It is certainly not the toughest event on the planet like they claim, but its fun and anyone can do it.

Tip: If you do one of these and consider yourself to be an above par athlete sign up for one of the earliest heats of the day. Signing up for any heat after 11am will get you suck behind people in the bottleneck that happens at every obstacle.

Local Mud Runs: http://wildwarriorchallenge.com/
Local mud runs are a great alternative to the Tough Mudder. They are never as long, nor as challenging, but they also aren't as expensive. The link above it to the Wild Warrior Challenge that goes on in Morgantown. I did this event just this past April and had a blast! It was only a 5k, but it was the most difficult 3 miles I ever ran.

Local mud runs are a great way to push you and your friends, giving you that upcoming event to prepare and train for. Go online and search for muds runs near you, and start your training.

5k-10k-half marathon-full marathon: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-finder
What ever distance you are looking for, the above link is the perfect way to find your race.

Rock Climbing Competitions: http://www.indoorclimbing.com/worldgyms.html
If rock climbing is your think, and even if it's not, get in touch with your local gym and ask about upcoming competitions. Most climbing gyms will host at least two competitions a year. These competitions usually have different experience levels and welcome beginners. It is a great way to network and make friends in the sport. The above link a great way to find a gym near you.

Boxing: http://www.boxinggyms.com/
Like boxing? Interested in trying something new? Boxing is an intense full body workout and any amount of dedication in this sport will whip you into shape. Don't worry, boxing gyms are very understanding and will never push you outside of your comfort zone. If you do not actually want to fight, but want to learn and be active, boxing is still for you. Boxing gyms will be interested in keeping you coming around even if you are not trying to get hit. They will teach the basics with no impact drills and sparing. The above link is a boxing gym locator. Go try something new!

Team Sports:
Check your area for local team sports that might interest you. This could be something like an actual softball league, or club soccer team, to something as simple as a morning basketball group. You might have to do some asking around to find out about these things, but it will do wonders for your motivation having a team sport to attend on a weekly basis. These types of things are generally very relaxed and full of people just trying to have a good time, so there is nothing to fear and no expectations held.

Competitions:
Competitions are a great way to stay motivated and will provide you with a measurable goal. These competitions could be anything you are interested in. Track and field events are a great idea if you aren't sure what you want to do. Get online and search your areas for local meets that are open to the public. Find that competitive edge within yourself and find out what your limits are. Open swim meets are another great one if that is your sport.

Have anymore ideas?
Please comment below if you have any more ideas for personal goals and events for readers to try. If possible provide a link and help get people motivated.

"Distance Run" :Breaking up the Boring Nature

Hate the monotonous nature of distance running? Me too!! So you hate the boring aspect of distance running but feel a good long run would benefit you from time to time. I'll tell you what I do.

Generally, for me anyways, trail running helps a lot. Unlike running on sidewalk or rail-trail, you cannot just zone out while doing true trail running. You have to stay focused on your footing as to not roll and ankle or worse. This slightly breaks up the monotonous nature of running and you won't even notice the miles flying by. Trail running is also better on your joints and shins because you are running on soft dirt as apposed to hard pavement that takes it toll over time.

Another trick I use to get over the monotony of running distance is to break it up into more of an interval style workout. Say you have a set distance in mind that you want to cover during your run. Get your watch out and time it. Don't pay attention to the distance, pay attention to the time. Start off at a light jog for 2 minutes and once you hit that 2 minute mark sprint for 1 minute. Once the minutes is over return to a jog and repeat this until you have reached your desired distance. You will be surprised by how quickly the distance disappears when you aren't thinking about it.

Mans Best Friend: Dogs, Your Workout Motivation

Dogs are great! They love us and we love them. They also love being outside! If you have a dog, you need not look any further for your workout motivation, especially if your dog is an active breed. Let your best friend help you shed the pounds. Taking the time to train your dog how to workout with you will do wonders for your energy and happiness. The process could take a while depending on your dogs age and breed, but it will be worth it!

I took a service dog training class while I was in college and they would always stress that patients and persistence are hands down the most important things when training a dog. This is another opportunity for you to do some research. Look up some training tips and read about what other people have found works best.

The dog in the picture is Simon. He is half Springer Spaniel and half English Setter. He is not my dog. We just really like him.

Training your dog to be your workout partner will not only help you, but it will help your dog. An active dog is a happy dog, and doing this will do wonders for your best friends health. Which, in the long run, could save you thousands of dollars in veterinary bills. You can also think of it as a bonding experience. Your dog will love you more than ever when you two start working out together. Dogs aim to please. They are pack animals, meaning they are meant to live in a group/family where everyone has a job to do. A dog will actually get depressed if it does not feel like it has a roll to play in the family. Giving your dog jobs to do, or in this case a regular activity like running will give your dog a sense of purpose and keeping it happy.

Workout ideas for you and your pooch!
For any workout you do with your dog remember that they might not be in the best shape either. You two will work up to your goals together. And think about the breed! Some dogs aren't meant to be runners, so don't hop on your bike and think your Chihuahua is going to keep up. You'll be more likely to end up in jail for animal abuse when people see your toy dog getting dragged down the sidewalk behind your bike.

Running: Running is of course the easiest and most obvious way for you and your dog to workout. I recommend getting a harness once the dog is trained if it is going to be on a leash so that you do not have to worry about affecting the dogs breathing while out.

Sprints: This is my personal favorite and I guarantee you'll see a happy look on your dogs face the whole time. Which, will make it more fun for you! Just like a workout that you would do on your own, set up two cones, and sprint from one to the other, walk back and repeat. Continue this at full speed ten times and regardless of the distance I'll bet you get tired.

Hill Sprints: Just like above, but on a hill. This will be surprisingly easy to train. You can even add a level of competition to it by teaching your dog to "stay" and "go" on command. This way you can start your hill sprint and teach your dog to start after you. Giving you the perfect lead to set up a close race to the top!

Sled Pulls: This is a resistance sprinting workout similar to parachute sprints and is very natural for dogs in the "working" breeds. You can look online and find a dog specific sled, or just use the same one you can get for yourself at your local store. Treat this the same way as the "Sprints" workout above, but you will have to help your dog turn around.

Have an idea for more dog workouts let me know by post a comment below. Get creative and have fun!

Learn You Foods!

Learning your foods and basic nutritional facts is a crucial part losing weight, keeping it off, building muscle, or whatever your physical aspirations are. Take the time to read about what you are eating. Remember there is no point in wasting all your time in the gym if you are just going to throw it all away with poor nutrition.

I was guilty of this myself. It took me until I was about 21 years old before I even knew that most breads and pastas are made with sugar. I was always told that carbohydrates gave us energy and never thought for a second that those foods were not necessarily good for me.

Fun fact about grains: Ever wonder what the real difference is between a loaf of white bread and a loaf of whole grain bread? Why are they called whole grains? Well, whole grain is exactly what it is! Wheat is actually a three part grain, but after the refining process only one part of the grain remains, removing a majority of the grains nutritional value.

Learn about grain biology and nutritional value here --> http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/what-is-a-whole-grain

Fat burning foods:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/nutrition-101-eat-to-burn-fat.html
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20553780,00.html

Muscle building foods:
http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/muscle-building-foods

Circuit Workout: Easy and Hard Versions

Dynamic Warm-up
- 5 min jog
- High knees
- Butt kicks
- A-skip
- B-skip
- Lunges
- Toy soldiers
- 10 body-weight squats
- Fence drills (10 per leg)
- 5 squat jumps
    Warm-up over

Circuit
For this circuit you need a jump rope and a pull-up bar. The "Easy" version of this workout is posted first, but lower down is the "Hard" version if you think you are up to it. Alter this workout to your strengths. For example, if you are great at pull-ups, add more pull-ups for each set.

Easy mode
- 5 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 10 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 40 jump ropes
1 min rest
- 5 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 10 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 40 jump ropes
1 min rest
- 10 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 10 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 40 jump ropes
1 min rest
- 10 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 10 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 40 jump ropes
1 min rest
- Rolling Plank: 1 min middle, 30 sec right, 30 sec left, 1 min middle

Done! Great work! You are less of a sissy now. Get your protein powder, stretch out and relax.

Hard Mode
- 10 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 15 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 30 double jump ropes (double, meaning the rope travels under your feet twice per jump)
1 min rest
- 10 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 10 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 15 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 30 double jump ropes
1 min rest
- 15 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 15 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 20 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 30 double jump ropes
1 min rest
- 15 pull-ups, 10 sec rest
- 15 squat jumps, 10 sec rest
- 20 push-ups, 10 sec rest
- 30 double jump ropes
1 min rest
- Rolling Plank: 1 min middle, 1 min right, 1 min left, 1 min middle
1 min rest
- Rolling Plank: 1 min middle, 1 min right, 1 min left, 1 min middle
Done!

Great work! You are a beast. Get your protein powder, stretch out and relax.

One Egg: The Perfect Nighttime Snack

A lot of people trying to lose weight are told to avoid eating anything two hours before bedtime. There is truth in this and it is certainly a valid trick when trying to lose weight.

An even better trick is to eat a single egg before bed (within an hour of sleeping). A single egg is low in calories and high in protein. Consuming a single egg before bed will keep your metabolism working harder while you are asleep.

Eat up! Get out! Be active!

Super Food #1: Almonds

Almonds!

Almonds are the first "super-food" I will be talking about on this blog. What is a super-food? It is a food that is packed full of vitamins and nutritional value to power your body, aid in normal bodily functions, and often help fight cancers and diseases.

Almonds are a fantastic, delicious food, that contains healthy fats, proteins and vitamins including: calcium,  B-6, and vitamin E. Almonds also contain the minerals iron, zinc, and manganese amongst others. They are great for the blood and heart, helping to balance cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. With so much manganese,  and calcium, almonds are obviously great for your bones.

Besides the health benefits, almonds are great weight loss food because they keep you from getting hungry.

Eat a handful of almonds a day and you will see and feel the difference, both now and in 20 years!

Read more about almonds and what they can do for you at the links below.
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/age-erasing-superfoods/age-erasing-almonds.php

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbsuperfoods/a/Almonds-Health-And-Nutrition.htm

Zinc in Almonds- http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/minerals/health-benefits-of-zinc.html

Want to be Better: Plus Tips on How to Get There

A major factor that I believe contributes to most peoples athletic abilities and general good physical shape is their ability to push harder, even when no one else is around. I see a lot of people out there that settle for what they have and what they are. It is important that, as athletes, and as humans, we aspire to the best we can. Below are some simple tips that will help change you for the better.

• When exercising, find it within yourself to push a little harder. Write out your workout before you go, as apposed to just making it up as you go. That way you have something to finish. This will also help prevent you from giving up, or calling it quits once you get tired.

• When you are at the grocery store, do not even purchase foods that are bad for you (anything with refined sugars, etc.). That way, when you can no longer resist the urge, it is much more of an endeavor to cheat the diet.

• When you are at the grocery store remember to read the labels. A lot of food companies pretend to be health, but they are not. Take Raisin Bran for example: Kellogg's advertises it as a healthy cereal, but if you read the ingredients you could just go eat Fruity Pebbles and be just as well off. So, be sure to read the ingredients!

• When you play sports/games with other people, or by yourself remember to put effort into it. You might play basketball everyday, but how hard are you trying? Run up and down the court. Give it 100% of your effort 100% of the time.

• Sleep often. As much as you would like to be going hard all the time, that's not how our bodies work. Make sure you are getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Let your body do what it needs to, to make sure you have the energy to do the things that you want to.

• Allow for recovery time. Do not overdue anything, regardless of the sport. Your body needs time to recover and rebuild. There is not point in lifting, say chest, every day. Continuously breaking down muscle without giving it the chance to heal is pointless.

• Include other people. Make it a point to include other people in your workouts and activities. This will make achieving your goals more fun and keep you more motivated on your journey.

 Have any tips or tricks of your own? Post them in the comment section below

Field Workout: Be Explosive

The follow is a great full body workout that is very explosive and will push you lungs and you muscles to their max. First, location. For this workout you do not need any equipment and it requires minimal space. A large athletic field or basketball court is perfect.

Warm-up:
Like all of my workouts, start with a dynamic warm-up going back and fourth in a space about 15 meters long. Remember to take your time.
- Jog approximately 1/4 mile. (four basketball court laps)
- high knees; butt-kicks; A-skips; B-skips; lunges; grapevine squats; shuffle both directions (stay low).
- four 10m sprints from a standstill
- fence drills
- Stride out at a fast run (not a sprint) for approximately 40m, or the length of your area. Remember to truly stride out your steps, running smooth and fluid.

Workout:
- 10 push-ups straight into 10 squat jumps; 30sec rest
- 10 push-ups straight into 10 squat jumps; 2min rest
For the next part, a set of suicides is one rotation of sprints. Set up 3 cones, as seen below.

Start_____________(10 m cone)_____________(20m cone)_______________(30m cone)
This is non-stop. Sprint to the 10m cone, touch your hand to the ground (try to alternate which direction you turn). Sprint to the start, touch your hand to the ground. Then to the 20m cone, start, 30m cone and run through the start as fast as you can. Explode out of each turn!
- 10 burpees straight into a set of suicides. 1min rest
- 10 burpees straight into a set of suicides. 1min rest
- 10 burpees straight into a set of suicides. 1min rest

- Jog 40m. Jog 40m back. 3min rest.
Start the next 4 sprints from a push-up position.
- Sprint 30m; 30sec rest
- Sprint 30m; 30sec rest
- Sprint 30m; 30sec rest
- Sprint 30m; 1min rest
- Clapping pushups to failure. 30sec rest. Regular pushups to failure.
Cool-down
- Static stretch
- Light jog

Sprinting: Bye Bye Fat Hello Muscle

Have you ever looked at a long distance runner, like a marathoner, and thought "what a strong, healthy, looking person?" Probably not, but I bet you have watched the Olympics at some point in your life and thought about how ridiculously in shape all the sprinters look. Just Google long distance runner and then Google sprinter and let me know which one you would prefer to look like.

Ladies, this applies to you as well. Look at Allyson Felix. World champion 200 meter dash sprinter that also looks like a model (she does some modeling). Sprinting/interval training is much more effective at burning away fat than a continuous slow jog. Not to mention healthier.

Avoid long distance, high impact, boring runs and go find a long flat surface somewhere. Most high schools keep their tracks open to the public when not in use. Some universities, if not all, also do this. I have found that the track at West Virginia University is one of my favorite places to workout. Partially because it reminds me of my old track days, but also because there is never anyone there! So if you are nervous about taking that first big jump out onto the track because you're new to it, don't worry mon! Chances are you will be the only one out there or at least one of a very small number.

How Sprinters Workout
Warm-ups
First off, all athletes in the 21st century warm-up dynamically. Meaning they no longer start workouts with static stretches like touching their toes. Dynamic stretching involves things like high knees, butt-kicks, lunges, fence drills, etc. The reason we do not use static stretching before working out is because it does not effectively warm up your muscles. The point of warming up is to warm up your muscle before attempting to make explosive movements. Static stretches are like taking a rubber band out the freezer and trying to stretch it out a little before pulling it all the way back for the big shot. Chances are your rubber band would snap. That wouldn't feel so great if it was the muscle in your leg.

Workouts
Sprinting workouts generally consist of long breaks in between very explosive exercises. The point of this is to allow the muscles, lungs, and heart to recover. Sprinters do not need to develop their lungs/heart to handle long term exertion like a distance runner. Sprinters need to be able to flood their muscles with oxygen filled blood to produce the explosiveness required to go at high speeds over a short distance. In turn, your body allows itself to put on more powerful muscles. Distance runners lean out to the point of looking like skeletons because it is so much work on your body to keep oxygen flowing to your muscles over long distances, and the less mass there is, the easier it is for you heart and lunges to keep those muscles happy.

Example Track Workout
In the below workout you will notice I specify a percentage after the distance. This is an estimated percentage out of your top speed. Rarely will you very go 100% during a workout. Mainly to prevent injury.
Warm-up
Jog 400m - Run 200m at 75% - walk 200m
In a 20m space do the following: (take your time)
   - high knees; butt kicks; A-skip; B-skip; rotating lunge; grape-vine squats; toy soliders; Arm swings; light skip; skip for height; skip for distance
Jog 100m - 100m at 50% - 100m at 75% -100m at 90%
Fence drills (leg swings)
Warm-up over

Workout
300m at 80% - 3 min rest
200m at 90% - 2 min rest
100m at 90% - 2 min rest
100m at 95% - 2 min rest
50m - 100% start to 20m, 70% for remaining 30m (Repeat 5x) - walk back rest

Cool-down
Walk 100m - Jog 200m -walk 100m
Static stretch

Bulking Up / Building Mass

What I Did to Start Gaining Mass
So you think losing weight is hard? Try bulking up with a fast metabolism and a vast enjoyment for cardio activities and workouts. That's my problem. A lot of people think that in order to bulk up you have to completely stop cardio workouts. I disagree. You do not have to stop working cardio, but it does help. I am going to tell you what I did, and how I put on 15 lbs. of pure muscle in just over a month without cutting too much cardio out.

Lets talk workouts first. I am not going to give you my exact program, because I don't have one and everyone is different, but I will talk a bit about what I found works for me.

Workouts
I started lifting 3-4 times a week in the mornings. In the evening hours (5 days/week) I go outside and do interval training of all kinds. I try to do different things as often as I can, both for the physical benefits, but also psychological (it keeps things fresh). Monday and Tuesday I cover all my major lifts, hitting all my major muscles. Monday is my "push" day. This entails bench press, shoulder press, squats, dips, upper abs and other accessory exercises to punish those same muscles. Tuesdays are my "pull" days. This consists of deadlift, pull-ups, biceps, lower abs and other accessory exercises in the same muscle groups. The other two lifting days change constantly. Sometimes its Monday all over again, sometimes it's all body weight, and sometimes it's full body lifting.

For my evening interval workouts outside I do all sorts of things. And I really mean that. Some days I am doing hill sprints. Others I am at the track doing different length sprints, sometimes I'm in a field doing suicides or a circuit. But the one thing that all of these have in common, is they are interval. Meaning, I give my body recovery time. Sometimes it's a full recovery, sometimes just enough to lower my heart rate a bit. I never do long distance cardio. For a few reasons. First off, it's really boring. Second, intervals work my lungs very hard while still avoiding the high impact of long distance running. And third, my goal is to build bulky explosive muscles, which I gain from the explosive nature of my interval workouts.

Nutrition
In the food department, I had to completely change the way I thought about eating. When you are trying to build mass, 2,000 calories a day will never cut it. This is not exact, but I would guess that I eat at least 5,000 calories a day, and it is all healthy. I am on a 4-5 full meals a day, high protein diet. My meals are always changing just like my workouts, but I usually have 4 eggs for breakfast cooked with veggies and the rest of my meals have a lot of proteins with lots of fruit and veggies. It was surprising to me how easy it became to eat healthy during this "bulking" diet. I feel like I am always in the kitchen cooking and when you eat that much healthy food you just don't want, or have time for, sweets. Maybe because there is no room left in you stomach. I was also taking Syntha-6 Isolate Protein Powder. Today I started using True-Mass protein by the same company, but besides the delicious taste I have not been using it long enough to talk about its effectiveness.

Well, there you go. Like I said, it is not a program, but it is the type of approach I have had to take in order to get the results I was looking for.

Always changing, always working.

Deck of Cards Workout

A deck of cards is a great way to mix up your regular routine. I am a big fan of this workout because it keeps you on your toes and you never know what's next. The idea behind this workout is that you assign a different exercise to each card in a deck and the different suites tell you how many of each exercise to do. Your rest is the time it takes you to check which workout is being displayed on the card. I would recommend writing it out.

Below is an example of my own. Try it if you dare! All you need for this deck of cards workout is a pull-up bar and a flat surface. If at any point while looking over the exercise you don't know what something is just look it up on the web, they are all fairly simple.

Reps
Diamonds = 4

Hearts = 6
Clubs = 8
Spades = 10

Cards/Exercises
2 = calf raises
3 = jump twist
4 = Leg lifts using pull-up bar (straight legs, bent if that is too hard)
5 = Chin-ups
6 = mountain climbers x2
7 = pike planks
8 = tuck-jumps
9 = push-ups
10 = scissor lunges
J = spiderman push-ups
Q = squat jumps
K = pull-ups
A = burpees

Example: If I pulled a Queen of Spades in this workout I would have to do 10 squat-jumps.

Good luck, and stay motivated!

Home Workout #2

To continue the home workout trend for those of you that can't leave the house for whatever reason. Or perhaps you already did a workout and are looking for a good second workout of the day. Here we go!

I will be explaining another 30/30 workout. For this workout there will be three exercises instead of just two. This is a solid full body workout. Enjoy!

The three exercises are:

Pike Plank or Sliding Pike Plank - http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/sliding-plank-pike-towel

Scissor Lunges - http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/scissor-lunge

Spiderman Push-ups - http://www.menshealth.com/celebrity-fitness/exercise-detail.php?66


30/30
Sliding Pike Plank - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Scissor Lunges - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Spiderman Push-ups - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec

Sliding Pike Plank - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Scissor Lunges - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Spiderman Push-ups - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec

Sliding Pike Plank - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Scissor Lunges - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Spiderman Push-ups - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec

Sliding Pike Plank - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Scissor Lunges - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec
Spiderman Push-ups - 30sec
   Rest - 30sec

And if you are feeling good do one more set!

Mix up the Routine

I am considered to be a very active person. I love working out regardless of what the workout is and I understand that not everyone is this way. Some people just don't like basketball, or running, or lifting. While there is absolutely no problem having one sport or activity that you like, there is a lot that can be said about being a well rounded athlete.

I contribute a lot of my rock climbing success to the fact that I am such a well rounded athlete. I could say that for any of the sports that I enjoy. Anyone who has played basketball with me knows that I am not actually good, but I'm coordinated and very fast, meaning I can pretty much hang in there with any crowd.

Don't be Afraid to do Other Things!
Besides just mixing up the routine to keep things more interesting (which is great!!), doing other workouts, like lifting weights, will help you to accomplish the goals of whatever your main sport might be. I see this problem with a lot of people, regardless of the sport. If you want improve at anything don't forget to look outside the box! Some people say that the best way to get better at something is to do it. I used to agree with that 100%. No longer. I see a lot of runners struggle to get faster even though they no longer get tired. I understand this. I used to be a 400meter sprinter in high school and I completely plateaued at 50.02 seconds even though I never got tired. The problem, my lungs were in perfect shape for the 400m but I wasn't powerful enough. Simply put, I wasn't strong enough to go faster. I didn't realize that until it is was too late, but there is a reason professional track athletes, football players, soccer players, and all sorts of other athletes lift weights. It works! And its safe! Taking care of your body by doing other things will make you better and keep you in the game longer.

If you play basketball with your friends a few times a week but just aren't quick enough to fly by them or out jump someone for a jump ball and you're tired of getting burned by the fast guys, start training outside your sport and starting lifting, or do circuits to make your legs more powerful. If you're a rock climber remember to keep your tendons healthy by doing apposing lifts, and staying lean by running.

Regardless of the sport there are other things that you can be doing to make yourself better. Don't get locked into a single obsession, because while you might initially see improvements it's not the best, or healthiest way.

Eat Healthy
Remember to eat healthy. You might not look like someone that needs to change their diet, but it's not something that will necessarily show on the outside. Eating well balanced meals made of "real foods" (non-processed) and packed with vitamins will take care of your joints, tendons, and body as whole, but also give your body the appropriate fuel to recover and preform at its best!

Home Workout #1

The first home workout is great for anyone living in an apartment, where jumping around and making lots of noise simply isn't an option.

This workout is called a 30/30's. A 30/30 is when you do one exercise as many times as you can in 30 seconds and then take the next 30 seconds off before starting, in this case, the second exercise for 30 seconds.

For the first part of the workout we will do two exercises. The first is your standard push-up which can be altered depending on which muscles you want to focus on more. For today lets stick with the standard hands shoulder width apart, going down to 90 degrees and back up. The second exercise for the first 30/30 is a body weight squat. Starting standing up with you feet shoulder width apart and turned out just slightly. Go down to 90 degrees and return to the top.

While this workout is about how many you can do in 30 seconds remember that quality is always more important than quantity! So pace yourself through this.

30/30
Push-ups - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds
Body weight squat - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds
Push-ups - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds
Body weight squat - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds
Push-ups - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds
Body weight squat - 30 seconds
   Rest - 30 seconds

Next a quick abs exercise.

Abs
Bicycle crunches - 30 sec http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20412214,00.html
Plank - 1 minute http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/basic-workout-plank?workout=13841
Rest - 30 sec
Bicycle crunches - 30 sec
Plank - 1 minute

Done!

Goals and Motivation

I'm going to talk a lot about motivation on this blog.  Motivation is, to me, the most important and most difficult part of working out, eating right, and being healthy. If you can stay truly motivated there is no reason why you cannot achieve your goals.

Whether you are a seasoned athlete or someone just trying to get in shape, giving yourself something to work towards will make a huge difference in your drive and motivation. Now, I'm not talking about the goal of just losing weight. So many people have losing weight as their only goal and get tired and burnt out when they don't see the speedy results everyone wants to see. No, I am talking about real goals, not just the results. Something that will give you something else to work towards besides just shedding the pounds.

What to do?
Signing up for races and mud runs is a great way to stay motivated. Most of these events consist of a certain level of commitment. You sign up months ahead of time and also pay months ahead of time committing yourself to the future agony.   Once you have signed up you will find yourself working much harder than if your only goal was to lose weight. Events like these give you something to look forward to, and something to keep your mind off the weight scale. Knowing that you have to run a race at the end of the summer will make you work harder because you want to be better, not because you want to look better.  You will go lift weights and go for runs, not to shed the weight necessarily, but so that you are ready, ready for this thing you already committed to. The weight will go away on its own, so try not to think about it.

Fun with Friends
Events like Tough Mudders are way more fun when you do them with friends. Not to mention it adds a whole other level of motivation. Say you sign up for a Tough Mudder with three of your best friends. It will be a great time! But, in the back of your mind you will know that you don't want to be, you can't be, the one that slows down the group. Doing these events with friends will also get you friends to workout with, and now, you all have the same goals in mind, so deciding on workouts won't be an issue. I talked a lot about the importance of having workout partners in my previous post on July 10th  Having a Good Partner http://betterlifefitnessandfood.blogspot.com/2013/07/having-good-partner.html

Tell People
Suppose you want a goal to work towards but you don't want to pay money or sign up for an event. Do you have a passion? Or a sport of preference? Use whatever it is to motivate you by setting realistic goals that you can reach in a timely manner. Once you have come up with your goal of choice tell people about it. Be proud of what you are going to accomplish! Telling people will give you just a bit more motivation because you no longer will be letting yourself down by not accomplishing these goals. Once other people know, there is an expectation set and people will see you as someone working towards this goal and later when they ask you about it, you don't want to tell them you couldn't do it. It is important that other people know what you are working towards, you might even find that people offer to help you with your goals.

From My Experience
I have done mud runs and 5k's and half marathons, but the one goal that really got me working the hardest was back in my rock climbing prime. In the fall of 2009 I was 20 years old and I told myself, and other people, that before I turned 21 on April 20th 2010 I would send (climb without falling) my first 5.13a. I picked out a climb and got to work. (Apollo's Reed at Summersville Lake WV) By picking out a climb I knew exactly how I had to train for it and spent that winter indoors working on my stamina. By the time spring came my stamina was through the roof, I was cave climbing for 11min at a time without stopping. I did not get to go to Summersville as often as I would have liked, but it was enough, and on the last weekend before my 21st birthday I sent Apollo's Reed. At any point I could have thrown in the towel and said "maybe next year." Thankfully, I couldn't do that. I had told too many good friends that watched me train hard through the winter and I didn't want to let them, or myself down.

So find something to do! Pick out a goal and make it happen!

Remember to set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely

Read about SMART goals at http://topachievement.com/smart.html

Fitness for Gamers

Heavy Gamer? Can't Workout?
Do you want to get in shape but don't think that it is worth the time to step away from your video game? Maybe you are a raid leader in World of Warcraft and a moment away is simply not worth the risk of loosing a solid player. Maybe you are up late every night playing games because that's when all the good players log on.

Hey! You still have time and you can still be healthy. I used to be a serious World of Warcraft player. Late nights and long hours putting together groups for Rated Battle Grounds. I understand the pressure and addiction involved with staying on these games day in and day out. I was there, and occasionally I still am. Despite this, I never lost a step with my fitness.

Most gamers feel like they get fat because they sit in front of a screen all day and never move. They aren't wrong, but they are forgetting something. The biggest problem is that most people who sit for long periods of time eat horribly. If you do not eat right you will never have the energy to workout in the first place.

My Advice
Realistically any serious gamer is going to have a hard time just dropping the controller and going to workout every day. Take baby steps. Do a little bit of homework on how to eat right and make an honest effort to improve your diet. Cut out the soda and chips while you play your games and cut up some celery. Eat some grapes. Substituting these "real" food for the fake ones will drastically increase the amount of vitamins going into your body. This, in turn, will give you more energy and you might even find yourself wanting to go be active after a while. A lot of people, even athletes, make the mistake of eating poorly. If you do not give your body the kinds of food it needs you will be wasting your time when you finally start working out. After a couple weeks on the new diet it will not feel like work anymore. Now you are ready to workout!

To be clear, I am not saying you should not workout. You should definitely workout. The above advice is for those people that feel tired and can never seem to keep up the motivation to workout.

What I Did
Earlier I said that I was serious World of Warcraft player for a few years, but never lost a step. How? Well, I have always been an active person, but yes, I was scared that spending endless hours in front of my computer playing games would destroy my physique. All I did was make little promises to myself. I would promise myself that every time I stood up from the game I would either do 10 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, or 10 body-weight squats. If I wasn't leading Battle Grounds that night I would do these exercises while I waited. Little self promises like this ad up. After four hours of gaming you might have done the equivalent of what most people do at the gym every day.

You don't need to stop playing games to take care of your body. Game on!

Having a Good Partner

Motivation and commitment are hard to come by for the most accomplished athletes. You aren't alone when you wake up in the morning and dread going to the gym. You aren't alone when you fear the oncoming workout. Everyone struggles to find that super human motivation that we think all the professionals have. I'm no exception to this. I love working out, being in shape, and staying active as much as anyone else, but some mornings I just can't do it. I move my fastest when I'm hitting the "sleep" button on my alarm.

So how do I manage to make it to the gym every morning? Well, to be honest, I don't. Not when I am alone anyways. Thankfully I'm not always alone. I am fortunate enough to have a girlfriend that is as active as I am. She likes to do the same workouts I do and we work around each others goals. Having her in my life has made an incredible difference in my motivation. Even when she isn't around I find myself working hard so that I can keep up with her and don't seem out of shape the next time we workout.

Having a workout partner without a doubt has a positive affect on any athlete. Even the top athletes in individual sports value their workout partners greatly. Take Usain Bolt for example. Arguable one of the best Olympians of all time places great value in his workout partner Yohan Blake, even though Track and Field is essentially an individual sport. The same can be said for any fighter and their sparring partners.

Workout partners give us that extra motivation to wake up in the morning when we know someone else is counting on us to be there. They also make it a more enjoyable experience, which keeps us coming back.

Having your significant other or roommate as a workout partner is even better. My girlfriend eats healthier than I do and having her around forces me to keep the kitchen healthy. We help each other wake up for the gym in the morning and keep each others nutrition in line.

Find yourself a friend or get motivated with you significant other. I promise it will help, and its fun!!