Super Bowl Half-Time Tabata Workout

This fat-burning Tabata circuit will help to combat some of those extra calories during the Super Bowl.

There are four quarters during the game, which leaves you with some extra time to kill. You know if you just sit there and wait, you’ll munch on more fattening snacks than you need to, so get on up and perform a 4-minute Tabata circuit in each quarter.

There are four exercises in each circuit, which you are going to perform for 20 seconds each with only a 10-second break in between. Once you reach the end of one complete circuit, repeat from the beginning to complete two whole circuits.

First Quarter Tabata – Upper Body

• Plyo Push-Ups
• Renegade DB Rows
• Pull-Ups
• Shoulder DB Press

Second Quarter Tabata – Lower Body

• Squat Down Curl and Press
• Plyo Lunges
• DB Deadlifts
• Walking Lunges

Third Quarter Tabata – Total Body

• Burpees
• High Knees
• Bear Crawl (in both directions)
• Jump Squats

Fourth Quarter – Core Strength

• Plank
• Mountain Climbers
• Bicycle Crunches
• V-Ups

Make sure you warm up before and cool down and stretch after this challenging workout.

Time to Torch those Holiday Calories

The celebrations are over, the gifts are all unwrapped, there are traces of cookies, cakes and chocolates and protruding out from underneath it all are the tell-tale signs of much indulgence.

I’m talking about that ever-expanding holiday waistline.

Well, there is no better time like the present to step up and get back into shape.

We all know the key to losing weight and fat loss is to create a negative energy balance and the best way to do this is by keeping your metabolism revved up even at rest. The best way to do this is by building lean tissue and creating an intense metabolic response that will not only burn some calories during your workout but will keep you burning them for hours afterwards.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is the answer to this dilemma and is best performed after your weight training workout. As a post-workout workout, HIIT will boost your metabolism for hours and hours. Because this type of workout is so effective, you will be spending less time in the gym but getting twice the results and faster.

It won’t take you more than three hours per week to make significant changes if you are following a sound nutrition plan. The old saying of work smarter not harder…well it just isn’t the way it really goes when it comes to positive training outcomes. Yes, you will work smarter, which is why you can spend less time during the week in the gym, but you will be working harder than what you may have been (or never have) before.

Performing the workout below three times per week with at least a day off in between each workout will help you get fitter faster.

Post-Workout High Intensity Interval Training

Warm-Up

• Jump rope 5 minutes
• 360 degree bodyweight lunges x 5 each side
• Overhead Squats with stick x 10
• Isolateral Butt-Bridges x 5 each side
• Inchworm x 10

Resistance Training

These supersets should be performed for 2 to 3 sets of 8 reps with a 60-second rest in between.

Superset 1

• Thrusters
• Back Squats

Superset 2

• Deadlift
• Bent-Over Barbell Row (supinated grip)

Superset 3

• Lateral Lunge to Overhead Press
• Push-Ups AMRAP (as many reps as possible in 30 secs)

Intervals can be done on your favorite piece of equipment or with burpees or a jump rope. Choose whichever will challenge you the most without compromising on safety for 30 secs of work at 85-90% of your heart rate reserve followed by 60-second rest. Repeat this 10 times.

If you are feeling up to it, throw in 3 sets of supersetted ab work like ball rollouts and pikes for 15 reps each. Finish with some stretching and be sure to refuel afterward.

Muscle Conditioning for Powerful Ski Legs

Before you hit the slopes this year, try some of these exercises to get you into tip-top shape.

Unless you’re out on the water surfing all summer or out on the streets skateboarding, your ski legs will feel a little shaky after the first day on le piste. So now would be a good time to hit the gym and dedicate some pre-season training to get those legs into shape.

If you already work out on a regular basis, try switching this routine out for your leg training day. It will hone your legs so that you’ll ski like a pro when everybody else is winded by the first run of the day.

The best type of training for strong ski legs is plyometrics. This explosive style of training will challenge even the most ardent athlete. But once you master the art of adding spring to balancing exercises, you’ll notice a difference in your reaction time on the slopes. If you’re an aggressive skier, this is important. This type of explosive training teaches the muscles to fire faster and with more strength, resulting in a more powerful and agile skier.

Plyometrics also help to improve balance, which is the key to being a good skier. It is a skill that can be developed with the use of a balance or wobble board. Having good balance for a skier means that your upper body is free to launch into those powerful push-offs coming out of turns and off moguls. Balance will add confidence to your game and give you better grip in the snow and a more intuitive approach to the terrain. It goes without saying that a strong core is a must-have for high-performance skiers.

Plyometric Training for Powerful Ski Legs

Balance

If you don’t have a wobble board or BOSU ball, then try using a pillow. Practice standing on the board on one leg without falling over. Make sure you maintain proper alignment, keeping your core muscles flexed, and focus on your breathing.

Round the Clock

These are like lunges that improve the balance of your standing leg and the strength of your lunging leg. Working your way in a clockwise direction, power out as far as you can into a lunge, landing delicately and with control on the foot. Hop back to center again. Work your way through all the numbers, starting with 12, moving in a clockwise direction. When you’ve completed the circle, start again with the other foot.

Balancing Balls

Exercise 1: You’ll need an exercise ball and a medicine ball for this exercise. While kneeling on the exercise ball, hold the medicine ball in both hands at the chest. As you try to secure your balance, focus on your breathing and keeping your core tight. Hold for 30 seconds.

Exercise 2: To add difficulty to this exercise, press the medicine ball out from the chest.

Exercise 3: Next, drop the medicine ball and try to stand on the exercise ball. Use extreme caution with this exercise.

Exercise 4: Practice jumping from the ground up onto a chair or stair, holding your crouching position for a count, then propeling back up and down to the floor.

Exercise 5: Repeat exercise 4 but use an exercise ball instead of a chair of stair.

Hold each exercise for 30 seconds.

Squat Jumps

These are squats with a spring jump. Squat down and touch the ground, then propel up as high as you can, landing delicately and back down to a squat to repeat. Perform these for a timed set of 30 to 60 seconds.

Lateral Jumps

Lay a ski pole on the floor and stand sideways to it. Next drop down into a squat and jump over the pole with feet together and back again, side to side for a timed set of 30 to 60 seconds. Use your hands to help with balance and speed. To add difficulty to this exercise, change the ski pole for a hockey bag or bench to add height to your jumps.

Power Hops

Standing on a step, chair or bench, drop down into a one-legged squat, then spring up as high as you can, landing on the same foot. Do this exercise for a timed set of 30 to 60 seconds, then switch to the other leg and repeat.

Lower Body Fat Burner

Circuit training has got to be one of the most efficient ways to work out and burn calories.

You can propel yourself through this circuit in about 20 to 30 minutes. The harder you push yourself and the fewer breaks you take, the more calories you’ll burn.

Every workout starts with a warm-up. Afford yourself an extra five to ten minutes for a dynamic warm-up and your body will respond more favorably to the challenging workout ahead.

The Warm-Up

• 10 Jackknives
• 10 Jumping Jacks
• 10 One Leg Glute Bridges – 5 each side (hip lifts with one leg extended)
• 10 Push-Ups
• 10 Prisoner Squats (with hands behind the head)

Lower Body Fat Burner

This is a timed circuit. Perform each segment for 45 seconds, only taking time in between each exercise to set up for the next move. At the end of each circuit, rest for 90 seconds and repeat for a total of 3 sets. This is a nifty little circuit that accelerates fat burning and tones your core and butt at the same time.

• Squat Jumps – bring your hands up to touch above your head when you’re in the stance.
• Plyo Runner’s Lunge – from the lunge position, propel yourself up from the back leg for a hop and return to the lunge position to switch legs.
• Donkey Kick Push-Up – in the push-up position, bring both your knees in to the chest at the same time, so you will go up on your two hands for a donkey kick with both legs.
• Plié Jumping Jacks – using your arms to work your core when you’re in the stance by bringing them up above your head.

Aim to do this workout early in the morning to increase your fat-burning potential. In other words, the fat burning that you put into motion early in the morning will last well after your workout. Working out early in the morning when cortisol levels are at their highest also helps to control stress levels and you’ll notice you’re calmer throughout the day.

Functional Training Circuit

If you want to get more out of life, then functional training can help.

Focusing on compound movements that mimic everyday actions of life, functional training can make it easier to climb stair, lug the groceries home and lift up junior when he needs a hug. It’s all part of tuning into your body and recognizing the areas where you need to work harder.

By incorporating functional training into your workout program a couple of times a week, you can improve your quality of life immensely.

Functional training helps to improve balance, core strength and stability, strength and flexibility. Functional training is used by everybody from athletes to rehab patients to improve performance.

Functional Training Workout

Deadlifts – this is a great exercise to help teach you how to lift properly. It increases the strength in your legs, hops, back, core and arms, especially when you use a barbell. Standing in front of your barbell, keep your back straight and bend down to grab your barbell. Lifting the barbell and yourself up, straighten your legs, pushing up through the heels and keeping a straight back. Return the barbell to the floor and repeat for 3 sets of 12 reps.

Clockwork Lunges – using dumbbells, lunge forward concentrating on bringing your front knee into a 90-degree angle. Push off and take your lunge to the side, then push off again to take your lunge behind you. This is one rep. Switch and do the same on the other side. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 each leg.

Squats with Bicep Curls to Shoulder Press – using dumbbells, lower yourself down into a squat, keeping your back straight, As you straighten your legs, curl your arms up into a bicep curl and finish with a shoulder press and straight legs. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 reps.

Side Lunges with Twist – holding one dumbbell in your hand, bend into a side lunge with the opposite leg, bringing your weighted hand down in front to touch the ground on the outside of your ankle. Carefully twist your body up to center bringing your arm across your body, keeping the elbow bent. Repeat for 3 sets of 12 reps each side.

Standing Overhead Triceps Extensions – helps to increase thoracic strength, working the mid-back, chest, core and predominantly, your triceps. Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell above your head, bend the elbows and then push against the resistance of the weight as your straighten your arms, keeping the plane of your arms solid and straight above your head. Repeat for 3 sets of 12.

Superset to Bent Over Dumbbell Rows – holding one heavy dumbbell or kettlebell between your hands, bend over with a flat back and pull the weight into your chest. Repeat for 3 sets of 12.

Run through this circuit all the way from beginning to end before repeating for a total of 3 sets.

Superman-Plank-Push-Up Combo

Compound exercises are your answer to working out efficiently with the most calorie burn in the least amount of time.

For this week, we’re going to focus on a compound exercise that will engage your core, chest, shoulders, triceps, back, quads, glutes and hamstrings. Now you couldn’t ask for much more than that.

This combo exercise incorporates several moves like plank, push-ups and supermans and will require a little stamina. So, here’s what you do:

Superman-Plank-Push-Up Combo

• Get yourself into a push-up position with straight arms and hold for 15 seconds.
• Perform one push-up.
• Extend one arm out in front of you at shoulder height and extend the opposite leg for a superman. Now switch sides.
• Perform one push-up.
• Repeat the alternating superman with a push-up in between for a total of 10 reps.
• Return back to plank with straight arms and hold for 15 seconds.
• Next, bend your arms to rest onto your elbows and then back up to straight arms and repeat for 10 reps each side.
• Perform one push-up.
• Then hold in plank for a minimum of 15 seconds.

If you’re still full of pep and want more, add a knee-up-twist at the end after your plank hold. What is a knee-up-twist? Bring one leg into your chest and then pull your knee over to the opposite shoulder to work your abs and obliques. Repeat for 10 reps each side.

Run through this combo exercise three times for maximum burn.

Weight Training 101

Other than the 1RM test that most people use to gauge how much weight they should be lifting, there are a few other things you should know.

You don’t need me to tell you that muscles vary in size and so it stands to reason that different muscles can take on varying amounts of weight. The type of exercise you do will also affect your lifting power. For instance, you’ll find you can lift more with standing exercises than lying down on a bench and working against gravity.

When it comes to arm work, generally the ideal lifting weight will be 10 to 12% of your body weight. For the bigger thigh muscles like the quadriceps, the ideal lifting weight will be one third of your body weight. But for the back of the thigh and the hamstrings, the ideal weight is one fifth of your body weight.

Here’s a breakdown for someone who weighs 150 lb:

• Biceps/Bicep Curls – 15 to 20 lb
• Quadriceps/Leg Press – 50 lb
• Hamstrings/Hamstring Curls – 30 lb
• Chest/Bench Press – 40 lb

For basic training, the recommended number of repetitions is between 8 and 12 with sets ranging from 3 to 6 and a 90-second rest in between each. After performing about 5 to 7 reps, you should be working extra hard to reach 8 reps and beyond. When it becomes too easy and you’re still lifting into rep number 11 without any noticeable struggle, then this is a clear indication that you need to increase you weight.

Originally published @ FITLODE.COM

Working Out with Baby at Home

VIDEO: Stuck at home with the young’uns, wishing you had time to slip away to the gym?

Well, Gavin McInnes thinks he has the solution. Using his offspring as weight bearing objects, he manages to stay fit while entertaining the kids. His technique is not too far off, as there are gyms in London, England, that employ people ranging from full size to midgets, who act as human weights and trainers combined, shouting words of encouragement as they are bench pressed. I kid you not!

Originally published @ FITLODE.COM

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