We don’t often repost content from other sources, but sometimes, we come across an article that is presented in a manner that we find very easy to digest. While we’d never heard of Stack as a media source before, every week, I receive newsletters from the American Swimming Coaches Association, with important articles relevant to swimming. Sometimes, I don’t even read through them, but this headline caught my eye: 4 Simple Ways to Build Stronger, More Resilient Hamstrings.
Improve your cardio with this intense boxing workout
Back in the day, when my coach asked me to spell the word “hell,” all I said was: C A R D I O.
If my coach asked me to spell that word today, I would do the exact same thing. All jokes aside, cardio is one of the hardest things to do in any type of sport.
If you are an athlete then you know what I mean by that. You spend hours upon hours working on your cardio. Many people, including my early self, asked the question: WHY? Why would you spend time working on cardio when you can invest that time to work on actual skill and power?
Well, the answer is quite simple. You won’t be able to showcase your skill or your power if you don’t have the stamina and durability. Your body will fail you!
To be honest, cardio is one of the most important things in sports, especially boxing. There were phenomenal fighters who were better than their opponents but they lost because they ran out of energy, or simply, “gassed out”! That’s why boxers (and other MMA fighters) are in incredible shape.
With that being said, it doesn’t matter what your sport is, cardio is a necessity! This article will show you how you can use boxing as an excellent way of improving your cardio.
ATTENTION MOST WOMEN, SOME MEN: STOP BEING ASHAMED OF YOUR CELLULITE.
Our society has many body-shaming problems and a big one is cellulite. Yes, cellulite, that dimpling of the skin in fattier areas. Guess what, it doesn’t mean you have a bad body, are fat, or that you need to do anything about it. Women, mostly, are ashamed to have it, yet 90% of women have it! It’s yet another impossible societal standard that people are kept to. And guess what, it’s nearly impossible to remove because it’s so natural to how our cells are formed. I am so sick of people (especially women) being embarrassed of it. Perfectly fit people have it–I have it! 90% of women!
Be the Wonder Woman for all women! Stop caring about cellulite!
As many of you might already know, I’ve been dealing with some injuries for quite some time. While I never had certain ones surgically repaired, as I should have, I’ve only been piling up new injuries. Last May, I tore my quad/adductor in my right leg deadlifting, and stopped lifting heavy-ish, only to tear my soleus/gastroc in my left leg in December… while deadlifting!
So, how am I responding to that?
All you need for this exercise is either dumbells or a barbell (our example pictures are with a barbell). Or really any object that you can lift. Maybe your cats are the perfect weight to be your dumbbells! Just kidding (kinda, only if you’re gentle can you do that!). We’re all about doing a workout ANYWHERE so we encourage you to get (safely) creative. So, what exercise are we talking about today? Reverse curls.
What are reverse curls? Reverse curls and curls (lifting something toward you by extending your elbow), but flipped! What does that mean? Basically, instead of the soft (under) part of your arm facing you, your arms will be faced downward in their neutral position. To put it most simply: your palms are facing down instead of up. And then you latch those strong hands onto a weight and bend your elbow, bringing it toward your face/chin. You won’t be able to do as much weight this way, because it’s a bit harder on your muscles.
Note that I didn’t say rest. There are some people out there (looking at you, Hungry) who believe in zero rest days and that’s okay as long as they balance properly. I (Fit here) go for one rest day a week and sometimes it’s a rest and recovery day.
What is a recovery day? A recovery day could mean a full rest day where you don’t workout, letting your muscles recover. Other forms of recovery days include yin yoga to really stretch, massage (self or professional), using heat (like a bath or heating pad), self myofascial release (think: rolling out muscles with a hard object), incredibly light lifting to just get your joints loose, or maybe a long walk or easy hike. As you can tell, a recovery day is really up to you. It’s about what you need that day after a week (or a few days) of workouts. It’s about getting in tune with your body and actually listening to it rather than forcing it. For example, my recovery day today consisted of a short yoga session focused on upper back stretches and using a massager on my back. If you can’t tell, my upper back is bugging me.
There are more fitness facilities in LA than anyone would ever want to count. When I managed a very large fitness facility in West Los Angeles, we had dozens of significant competitors in walking distance. It was brutal and trying to offer the same classes that these specialized locations hosted was a massive challenge. With such an impressive selection, there isn’t ever going to be a consensus best “gym in LA” or anything along those lines, but there are certainly places that are undisputed gems.
We’ve talked about, on the blog or in person, some of the best deals in LA. Whether that means off-the-wall places like Tempest, amazing communities such as Barbell Brigade, cost-free natural selections including the Santa Monica Rings/Runyon Canyon or the unmatched intensity you’ll find at Gold’s Venice, LA has something for everyone. As Hungry & Fit, we do, however, need to give an edge to the facility that we personally use. Obviously, that says a lot about a place.
Since we do fairly well and are fiscally responsible, we don’t limit ourselves to budget options/chains including 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Planet Fitness and the YMCA (though we do love the Y!). We prefer to pay more and avoid dealing with people who aren’t serious about their training; we don’t want to fight people who are on their phone while sitting on equipment. Also, we like to avoid budget options since they often have higher traffic; we don’t want to wait for equipment, in order to keep our workout intensity higher.
Yesterday was a rest day, but it started with a relatively in-depth test called a DXA Scan. This seven minute x-ray gives you more detail about your body composition than calipers, scales and hand-held devices and while it costs $45, there are massive benefits to using it. While we generally don’t find it necessary to track every rep and count every calorie, measuring your progress and results are often crucial to success. When you consider someone who is extremely fit, you might think of an Olympic decathlete. Whether they’re throwing, jumping or running, the world’s best measure every inch and second, because that allows them to improve.
‘Measurables’ hold us accountable and therefore allow us to get better every single session. If you lifted 10 lbs for 10 reps one day with a certain technique, you wouldn’t necessarily be very happy if you used that same technique and only lifted 10 lbs for 9 reps the next time you performed. You’d want to either lift 11 lbs for 10 reps or 10 lbs for 11 reps, if you’re maintaining all of the other factors taken into consideration while exercising, such as rest intervals and technique based numbers such as eccentric/concentric timing, etc.
The maxi climber is quickly becoming the most popular fitness machine available on the market. In today’s modern world, busy work schedules and hectic lifestyles have made it difficult for many to hit the gym. The best maxi climber reviewed by Topprobe has proven to be the best home workout device and has received praise from many happy customers. The maxi climber will help you burn calories, get rid of extra weight and tone muscles in the comfort of your home. When buying a maxi climber choose one that best suits your needs and is budget friendly.
Here are 5 facts you should know before buying a maxi climber.
Sales of protein powder in the USA will reach $7.55 billion dollars by 2020, which is a substantial increase from $47 million dollars in 2016. And with the number of gyms and health clubs continuing to rise, the demand for protein supplements is also expected to continue to grow.
While the demand for protein supplements remains high, there is an increasingly diverse range of products available in the protein supplement range.
