Boxing Workout

This is the last blog for the semester and I hope everyone learned a lot about creative ways to incorporate fitness into your everyday life. Today’s workout is fun and exciting….it’s time to hit the ring for a boxing workout.

Boxers are known for their explosive strength and endurance. Training like one helps develop a powerful lean body, and mental focus. The key is to remain in constant motion and move quickly from one exercise to the next. This circuit will keep your heart rate elevated, maximizing weight loss.

Warm up: Start my jumping rope, in the ring or next to it for about 3 minutes.

Punches: keep a slight jog in place bouncing back and forth. Maintain good posture looking straight head with your core tightened. Keep your elbows close to your body and raise your fists in front of you. Curl your fingers to form a fist with your thumb on top of your index finger. Throw four punches with the right arm, then four with the left. When you throw a punch extend your arm from your shoulder, do not lock your elbow and keep your wrist and fist firm. Return to the starting position with the same speed as your accelerated punch. Now alternate each arm punching as fast as possible for 10 seconds, take a short break and repeat four punches consecutively on each side. Repeat this set 2-3 times.

Kicks: stop bouncing and keep feet shoulder width apart, elbows bent and fists at your hips. Kick forward extending your leg from the hip extending forward, but do not lock the knee. Plant the forward foot used for the kick and punch straight forward with the opposite hand. Lean forward into a lunge; remember to keep the knee behind your toes. Stand up from the lunge and kick to the rear with the opposite foot. Alternate each side for about 3 minutes. This circuit will work hard to engage your core as well as your arms and legs.

Squats: It is time to target your legs even more. Drop into some squats, and feel free to perform jumping squats if appropriate for your fitness level and you can demonstrate proper form.

Push ups: Down to the floor for some pushups…once you max out squeeze your core for 30 seconds of mountain climbers moving your feet as fast as you can.

Heavy bag: Perhaps you have a heavy bag at your gym or at home. Hitting the bag is very physically demanding and delivers immense resistance and challenges your cardiovascular system. Typically limit your boxing to 2-3 minutes to develop our anaerobic strength, with short rest periods in between sets. Perform a variety of punches such as the cross, jab, uppercuts, and hooks. This will engage the shoulders, arm, back, and chest. Be sure to circle the bag to engage your legs and keep core tight. Stay on your toes and more quickly from one foot to the other to keep you heart rate elevated. Always keep your elbows close to your body and maintain excellent posture.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Tuna on white wheat, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Water Workout

Are you headed on vacation to a warm climate, or just wish it was summer again? Why not take your workout to your community center’s indoor pool, or try this workout while vacationing in the sun.

Water is a great fitness tool adding great resistance to every motion made, to not only impact your cardiovascular system, but also help strengthen muscles. Due to the buoyancy of water, some of your body weight will be supported in the water. This will prevent your joints and bones from bearing too great a load, allowing for a low impact workout. This is especially beneficial for people with injuries, arthritis, or who might be overweight or obese. Getting into the pool is also great cross training if you are in off season for your usual athletic events.

Here are some great tips to enhance your water workout:

·         Keep your feet in contact with the floor so your leg muscles are supporting some of your weight during exercise. Aim for about waist deep water.

·         To add resistance consider wearing webbed gloves, water shoes, or weights on your ankles and wrists.

·         Keep hydrated by drinking fresh water during and after your workout.  

Now for the exercises:

Jog: Begin with a jog from one side of the pool to the other, staying within waist deep water and make contact with the floor of the pool with your feet. The water adds great resistance allowing more calories to be burned than on land. Jog for 3 minutes as a great warm up.

Spiderman: Stay in the water and move to the side of the pool. Begin treading water by sweeping your hands back and forth to help stabilize your body. Begin to walk your legs up and down the wall of the pool. The goal is to keep your head above water while you do this exercise. It will really challenge your arms, core, and lower body as you work to stay afloat.

Leg lift: Use the same noodle or foam float. Stand in the pool and balance one leg on the float, bending the knee at 90 degrees. Hold for several minutes while squeezing your core. This exercise helps build abdominal strength and strengthens your leg muscles.

Waves: Told on to the edge of the pool, your face should be towards the pool wall. Extend your legs out behind you, keeping them straight. Keep your legs together and create waves by moving from your abs, to your hips, to your thighs, to your knees, to your feet. This should remind you of a kick from a dolphin. Keep as fast as you can for up to 1 minute. This will really challenge your leg muscles and core.  

Fly’s: this exercise will engage your pectoral muscles and also engages your core while working on your balance. Hold a lunge in the pool and extend both arms to either side. Elbows should be slightly bent. Push your arms together in front of your chest so your palms touch and thumbs are pointing upward. Return back to the sides to complete one rep. Repeat 8-15 reps and add in a pool jogging between 2-3 sets.

Plank: Get a noodle, log, or other foam float you can use. Stand in the pool and hold onto the float with arms shoulder width apart. Lean forward until your body is at an incline but your head is still above water. Hold for about 1 minute.

V-ups: Begin treading water with your hands but keep your feet closely together, legs straight. Bring your legs up to the surface of the water forming a V. Only your head and toes should be out of the water. Keep treading and hold for up to 1 minute. This will really target your abdominal muscles.

Water is a great exercise medium and really adds a creative twist to your workouts. Remember safety is very important. You should have a basic knowledge of how to swim before attempting any of these exercises. It is best to exercise in the pool under supervision of a lifeguard incase help is needed. All of these exercises should be performed in the shallow end of the pool, with your head above water to prevent serious fatigue and drowning.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Low fat chocolate milk

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Outdoor Workout

As we saver the last warm days of fall before winter, it is important to get outside and take advantage of it. What is a better way of doing that, then bringing your workout outside this week? This workout can be modified depending on where you might be; a park, your backyard, or in the woods. The important goal is to incorporate a full body workout outside, despite not having access to traditional weights and benches you might be used to using.

Start out with a 5-10 minute jog to increase your body temperature and increase your heart rate.

Find a hill and start with walking lunges…don’t stop till you reach the top. Remember to keep your front knee behind your toes to maintain good form.

At the top already? Time for a set of jumping squats or regular squats depending on your experience level.

Time to turn around and lunge back down the hill…followed by another set of squats.

Drop to the ground for a set of push-ups, or find a tree and stand a few feet away from it. Place your hands on the tree and bend your elbows for 8-15 reps of tree pushups.

Find a strong low lying branch, a horizontal pole such as a railing, or even a sturdy table. Time for a set of hanging body weight rows, or inverted rows as some people call it. This will really target your rhomboids, trapezius, deltoids, abs, and arms. Maintain good form, and remember to modify based on your skill level. To make the exercise easer keep your knees bent and firmly placed on the ground. To make the exercise harder keep your legs very straight and almost parallel to the ground, you can even prop your feet up on a rock, ball, or tree stump to progress even further.

Ok one more set of the pushups and inverted rows….move fast this is a circuit and you want to keep your heart rate up.

Time for some Crossovers. You will want to find a log, a pile of leaves, or a rock. Use good form and jump side to side over the obstacle or up and down on a bench. Try to maintain for 30-60 seconds.

Try to find a strong tree branch or jungle gym where you can do a set of chin-ups or pull-ups. Remember chin ups are a little easier, your palm faces you, and you engage the biceps more. A pull-up engages more of your back, generally is harder, and palms will face away from you.

 Use a park bench, tree stump, or rock for a set of dips to target your antagonist muscle group, triceps. Follow with some more crossovers, one more set of the chin-ups or pull-ups and one more set of the dips.

Let’s end with a blast to the core…time for some hanging crunches from a strong tree branch or jungle gym. Hold on palms facing you, keep arms fully extended and bend your knees drawing them to your chest exhaling on the way up. After 8-15 reps get back on the ground and hold a plank as long as you can to really engage your transverse abdominals which act as a girdle holding your intestines inside. For progression try balancing your feet on a rock or ball.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?

This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Healthy pizza on whole grain break with light low fat cheese lots of vegetables, and chicken.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Sprinting

Happy Halloween! While candy can be enjoyed in moderation, the real key is to incorporate high intensity exercise to utilize the excess glycogen stores you may be building up today. Some athletes even swear by eating a piece of candy before performance to increase blood sugar levels and obtain a high energy spike just before a race or workout session. I would suggest selecting more nutrient dense carbohydrates that are easy to digest, but for the sake of Halloween let’s focus on a great way to burn off that excess energy, no matter what form you consumed it in.

Running is the epitome of cardiovascular strength, and is the most participated in sports for novices and athletes alike.  Running is the go to activity to lose weight and to challenge one’s self.  How often do we hear people in the gym or at the office bragging about the miles they ran over the weekend, or how many races they are doing this season? Don’t get me wrong…long distance running is great and expends a lot of energy, running a marathon can burn anywhere from 2,822-3,593kcal according to Cleveland Clinic Center for Consumer Health. But long distance running can actually be very damaging to the body, and lead to weight gain. Often excessive cardio increases stress hormone secretion while suppressing human growth hormone and testosterone. Some studies even indicate elevated stress hormones can result in insulin resistance. Long distance runners often tend to have low muscle mass and higher body fat stores, in order to naturally compensate for the large energy needs required during prolonged runs.

Sprinting benefits heart health just as much as long distance endurance training according to a research study posted in the American Journal of Physiology. Sprinting allows the body to quickly engage the cardiovascular system and increase strength, without placing prolonged stress on the heart. Sprinting is also very effective in weight loss and weight maintenance. Sprinters tend to be lean, muscular, and low in body fat. Sprinters tend to naturally secrete more human growth hormone and testosterone.

Sprinting is very effective in burning calories fast, especially depleting glycogen stores which help us to burn fat for fuel. Since it is a high intensity exercise, you are pushed to your anaerobic threshold, allowing large amounts of oxygen to be consumed, and the heart rate is increased significantly. This allows more calories to be burned in a shorter amount of time than lower intensity exercise, and allows more calories to be burned throughout the day as recovery takes place.

Pushing your anaerobic threshold allows you to increases your cardiovascular strength and will make you faster as your progress through your training. This is why sprinting is so important not only for people looking to lose weight, but also people training for marathons, races, or looking to improve long distance times.

Sprinting in intervals involves short bursts of sprints followed by a resting period, then repeated. Interval training can be really fun and creative depending on your running goals. Some people will run 200m, rest, 400m, rest, 800m, rest, 400m, rest, 200m. Others might run 100m as fast as they can, and then walk 100m before repeating. On a treadmill you can even sprint for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds-1 minute, and repeat 5-10times. The combinations are endless and really open to a lot of creative routines.

Just as in strength training, it is important to vary your workouts and allow time to rest and recover. It is still appropriate to engage in sustained cardiovascular exercise throughout the week to accomplish your health and performance goals. Often people find it helpful to incorporate springing several times per week and/or on lifting days, in addition to lower impact cardiovascular exercise such as bike riding or using the elliptical for 30 minutes 2-3 times per week as well. Remember to work at your fitness level and seek professional guidance to ensure proper form and technique.  

This week I would like to suggest a pre and post workout snack to help us perform at our optimal level and refuel for tomorrow's exercise.

Pre workout: 100-200kcal 1 hour to 30 minutes before exercising

Graham crackers and applesauce

Post workout snack: 3:1 carbs to protein

Whole grain English muffin with egg and low fat cheese

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Research study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18434437?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrezPubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Stability Ball Workout

This week we are going to discuss a great workout that targets your core strength and stability…stability ball workouts! These full body workouts are centered on inflatable exercise balls and can be modified depending on your fitness level. Also since stability balls are really affordable and easy to store, they are a great item to have on hand for at home workouts. Let’s focus on some basic exercises:

Squat: place ball on the middle of your back and against the ball. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Squeeze core and bend at knees until 90 degree angle is formed and hold for 3 seconds. Focus on sitting back into the squat so knees do not bend over toes. Repeat 12-15 times.

Hamstring curl: lay on your back and balance ball on heels of your feet. Place hands flat on the ground next to body. Lift hips and squeeze glutes while still balancing the ball on your heels. While holding plank bend knees to roll ball close to body while squeezing hamstrings. Hold for 3 seconds then straighten legs while still holding plank. This is considered one rep. Without resting bend knees to roll ball again for second rep. Repeat 12-15 times.

Push-up: lay on your stomach on the ball and walk with your hands forward until the ball is resting on your thighs. Bend at the elbows to lower your body to the ground. Hold for 3 seconds then lift back to starting position. Repeat 12-15 times. Squeeze core and glutes to help stabilize ball.  

Ball Pass: lay on your back with legs extended. Hold ball in hands on the floor but above your head. Squeeze core and lift extended arms that are holding the ball and extended legs. Pass ball from hands in between legs. Squeeze legs to hold ball and lower extended legs and arms back to the floor. Repeat passing the ball between legs and arms 10-20 times.

Ball Fly: this exercise also requires the use of dumbbells. Use whichever weight is appropriate for your fitness level. Rest ball on floor and in between shoulder blades. Place feet on floor shoulder width apart. Keep back straight by tightening core and glutes. Hold dumbbells in each hand above head with elbows slightly bent. While remaining stable on ball lower both arms with dumbbells to either side of body. Maintain slightly bent elbow. Upon lowering arms to chest push back upward to starting position completing one fly. Repeat 12-15 times.

While all of these exercises are very basic and fundamental, they really challenge your balance and core stability. Building a strong core is so important in developing overall strength, as well as enhance ease of daily activities. Remember to always consult a specialist to ensure proper form is being followed to prevent injury.

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?
This week’s post workout snack suggestion:
Low fat Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Kettlebell Workouts

How is everyone feeling!? Last week we focused on Plyo workouts...this week we will combine that explosive power with a Kettlebell workout!

Kettlebell workouts target you anaerobic and aerobic system. Not only will you increase muscular strength and endurance, but also increase your cardiovascular system. Since using kettlebells is a ballistic motion, your core is very targeted and helps build overall strength.

Kettlebells generally look like a big iron cannon with a handle and come in all different weights and sizes. It is very important to start with a lower weight and use perfect form, before moving onto higher weights. Remember since kettlebell workouts are ballistic, meaning they are high velocity requiring coordination of agonistic and antagonistic muscles, it is easy to become injured if you do not utilize proper technique.

Kettlebell workouts save time by engaging the entire body for each exercise. Multiple swinging movements create a center of mass beyond your hand and require engagement of the lower back, legs, and shoulders while increasing grip strength. Basic exercises include the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk. Most stationary exercises, without ballistic movement, can also be performed using a kettlebell such as squats, dead lifts, and triceps extension.

In general a great kettlebell workout should be completed in a circuit, being repeated 3-5 times depending on your fitness level. Here is a great example of a high intensity circuit:
12-15 swings
12-15 squats to push press
12-15 alternating clean and jerks
12-15 Rows
12-15 curls

Remember to seek professional assistance to ensure your form is correct in order to reduce injury!

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?
This weeks post workout snack suggestion:
¼ cup hummus and 1 whole wheat pita bread

Remember post work out snacks are really important to replenish glycogen stores and rebuild damaged muscle. High to moderate glycemic foods are encouraged to provide quick delivery of nutrients. Snacks consumed within 30 minutes of exercise deliver the best results. Try to incorporate mostly carbs with a little healthy fat and lean protein. This snack is roughly 3:1 carbs to protein, and serving size can be modified to meet your individual caloric goals.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.

Plyo's workout

Plyo, or plyometric workout is a great way to improve agility, muscular strength, and cardiovascular fitness. Plyo workouts really target your fast twitch muscle fibers and your anaerobic system helping to build lean muscle mass.

One of the most important things to remember is that plyometric workouts place a lot of stress on the body and should be started at very low levels, then work up to more intense exercise. Many people can become injured if proper technique and form are not followed. Having said this, plyos are a great way to add intensity and excitement to a boring old workout.

Plyo workouts include quick, explosive exercisee designed to not only increase strength but also speed and power. Muscles lengthen during the eccentric phase, followed by a short rest, and then an explosive concentric phase. These three phases should be repeated as quickly as possible, again slower for beginners and faster for experts.

The goal of progression is to decrease the time between the eccentric and concentric phases, therefore increasing strength and power. Not only will your muscles develop strength and speed, tendons will become stronger the help reduce injuries through increased strength and elasticity. Your nervous system will also respond increasing neuromuscluar transmission and increases your overall athletic speed and power.

Here is a great ploy circuit that you can modify for any fitness level:
10 squat jumps, 10 plyo pushups, 10 alternating split squate jumps, 30 second lateral hops, followed by pullups to failure. (use an assistance pull up machine if needed and regular modified pushups if needed!)
Run through the circuit 3-5 times depending on your fitness level.

Remember to seek professional assistance to ensure your form is correct in order to reduce injury!

So now that we just had an intense exciting workout how do we refuel for tomorrow's exercise?
This weeks post workout snack suggestion:
1tbs peanut butter, 1/2 banana, on 2 rice cakes
remember post work out snacks are really important to replenish glycogen stores and rebuild damaged muscle. High to moderate glycemic foods are encouraged to provide quick delivery of nutrients. Snacks consumed within 30 minutes of exercise deliver the best results. Try to incorporate mostly carbs with a little healthy fat and lean protein. This snack is roughly 3:1 carbs to protein, and serving size can be modified to meet your individual caloric goals.

Remember this workout plan and snack is only a suggestion and may not be appropriate for all populations, especially people who are pregnant, suffer from previous injuries, or other special circumstances. Please consult a medical doctor prior to making lifestyle changes.