Workouts come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re a beginner or nearly a professional athlete, weight loads, rep ranges, rest, and many other variables dictate your training session. The following workout has its own place for those that are experienced but don’t have a concrete goal. For those that have been serious in the past but an injury has taken its toll over time. I call this the Simple Shoulder workout, but Simple is relative to an experienced athlete.
Do you think it’s worth buying my own TRX trainer for home? That was a question I recently received from a follower and friend. He has been constantly trying to change his workout regiment over the past 5 years to avoid plateaus. This had led to him working with different trainers and exposure to new equipment. With all those differing opinions, you start to develop questions. One of the big questions is, how much do I invest in my effort to get fit? For some, investing is an issue of different resources whether it is money, time, or space.
While I grew up in and around the fitness industry, I entered it as an “adult” fitness professional around the same time as my close friend, Jose. Jose is an extremely humble man and a tremendous athlete, but you can find out a bit more about him here or maybe here or even here. He has an unprecedented work ethic and passion for fitness, but his desire to become better at his craft isn’t based off a want to make money or be famous… he wants to help people. He’s in it for the right reason and that is why Jose is so effective.
For some of you, running outdoors at the moment could be a serious hazard to your life (who doesn’t love running on ice)? For some of you, it’s actually too hot to “comfortably” (when have I ever felt comfortable running) to run outdoors? And then many people simply dread the treadmill. Who wants to just run in one place at the same pace staring ahead? Not always the most fun. That’s why we have interval training to spice things up and make the time fly!
What is a treadmill interval workout, you ask? Basically, it’s intervals of different speed. And because we’re doing a beginner to intermediate session, the intervals will be a little longer. Let’s get started:
Today, a lot of people have off (including me–yay) to celebrate our soliders, present and fallen. That also means a lot of businesses are closed for the day–which includes gyms. You might use that as an excuse not to exercise, but I’m here to bail you out of making excuses (aren’t I sweet?). This is a workout you can do at home and around your neighborhood–no fancy gym required. All you need are running shoes, a mat (or carpet), and a weight of some sort. The Memorial Day workout is a run and an ab workout. Simple enough, right? Look below for the workout!
A short run, but I’m not much of a runner. You can bet that I was sweating and panting
October 4th, 2015. Lake Tahoe, CA. Elevation 6200-9000 feet. Spartan Ultra Beast. 26+ miles. 50+ obstacles.
I haven’t REALLY challenged myself for over 4 years. I was a slacker in high school, even though I was involved in a lot. I did it all, going through the motions, but rarely applied myself. I never studied, rarely practiced outside of class or practice, and as a result, I prevented myself from moving to the next level. College was a little different since I took on so much that it was mathematically improbable for me to be able to complete everything without trying. Still, I lost valedictorian because I didn’t care. I missed Olympic trials because I wanted to be big.
With all the new and upcoming fitness trends, it’s hard to discern what’s right and what’s just fluff. Is that oil really going to help me? Is that move really going to firm up my butt? Should I really drink all this beet juice? It’s hard to know the real truth, but that’s when friendly smart experts with super awesome infographics come into play. A big player in the fitness game nowadays is Pilates. Most people aren’t really sure of what it is. Is it yoga with more core? Is it harder yoga? What is it? Annabel Fitzsimmons lays it down for us in her article, “Busting Pilates Myths“ on Health Perch.
FitExpo!! Much more to come on that later…
Yes! Another hiking adventure! One of my most favorite forms of fitness: the outdoors and exercise. It’s important to enjoy nature either by yourself, your loved one, or good friends. We have been doing a hike about every other weekend to improve our fitness and soothe our minds. If you haven’t checked out last time’s hike, look here. This time, Jamie, Dani, and I headed for the Pacific Palisades in thirst for a challenging hike. We certainly found what we were looking for. It was a workout. Probably the toughest hike I’ve done in a bit. We found our way to Los Liones Canyon and we trudged upwards.
People who can identify in some way to the title know that going through this is tough. Being a normally active person or simply having a goal to becoming a health nut and not having that drive inside of you hurts. It almost wounds you, if you’re someone who is usually top-notch. Whether it’s due to lack of time, lack of energy, or just plain lack of motivation, it’s depressing to not have that hunger to work the body hard. Since I’m no longer training people full-time, I have found that my fitness motivation isn’t as high as it used to be. When I was training full-time, I was an example, and my clients were my motivation. I appreciated all the hard work they were doing and that, in turn, inspired me to keep fighting hard for my health. Now that I’m not training as much, my motivation dips to what I can do to “stay in shape” or “get by.” This is the worst because just getting by is average and I loathe average.
It’s not all bad news. There’s light behind those dark clouds. It is possible to get out of that slump and the key is within your own mind. I’ve thought about this a lot recently–how I want to beat average and become my truly fit self again. I’ve thought about what has motivated me in the past or what has really fired me up. Being fit is a very personal thing. Everything is in your head–your goals, your inspiration, your drive, and so forth. Motivation is not universal. I can tell you right now that Dani California Cooks does not get motivation to workout hard while listening to a video game soundtrack like I do (she’s nerdy in other ways). We are all different–and that’s what makes humans so interesting. However, there are some tips on how to tap into your inner drive and motivators and how to get your fitness motivation back.
