Halloween 2012 Challenge: 10/31/2012

Today's workout is brought to you by The Spartan Race. The goal of this workout challenge is to time yourself and finish in  as short a time frame as possible. If you need to you may take your time, but keep in mind that this is a challenge.

Power-Out / Power-Up

Burpees performed in sets of
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Mountain Climbers performed of
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Jumping Lunges performed in sets of
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Burpees performed in set of
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Beginners plan on doing set of 1-2-3-4


So how does this work? Well, on your first set perform one rep of each exercise. Second set do two reps. Third set do three. Got it. Go to it!

Halloween Candy Exchange: 10/30/2012

Every child and some parents look forward to the day of ghosts, gobblins, costumes, and sweet treats. Kids really enjoy going from house to house picking up scary little high fructose corn syrup candies whilst yelling trick or treat. Halloween for children is a magical time that is nearly as magical as Christmas. But if you are trying to teach your child good eating habits then Halloween could be a nightmare. Do you let your kids go door to door collecting sweet morsels?  Do you wish that there might be a way that you could let your child collect that candy and then later trade it all in for something healthy? Looking for something fun that the kids could enjoy after Halloween? Well, I think this might be for you. Live Well Colorado has some great ideas to make this Halloween a happy, safe, and nutritious one; both on Halloween and after. Hope you get to check it out! Don't live in Colorado? Look into a similar project in your neck of the woods, or maybe you could become the force the tries to get kids in your state, city, or neighborhood to live well.

Have a very safe and delicious Halloween!

Superfoods: 10/28/2012

Everyone is looking for their magic pill that will bring their youth back. What would you say if I were to tell you that there is a magic pill. And that the pill comes in the shape of various fruits and flavors? Oxidants (AKA: free radicals) live very well in the human body and love to attack your cells. Superfoods are full of anti-oxidants like vitamin A, C, E, lycopene, and flavonoids and love to attack these free radical oxidant agents of terror. Many studies out there show the benefits of anti-oxidents like: decreasing heart disease in women, lower cancer rates, blood pressure regulation, and reversing cell damage caused by oxidants that can make you look and feel older.  Not to mention that many of these superfoods are mighty tasty. Help yourself to a serving today.

Get Ripped: 10/25/12

As always, Scott Herman wants everyone to look their best and he wants you to do it in a fun and challenging way. In this exercise set up you will use 100% body weight exercises to get yourself pumped. This workout sounds like it might be easy at first, but looks may be deceiving. One thing for sure is that it will give you a great workout that will challenge your muscular strength and endurance. Good luck and have a great time. As always, we must give a high five and thank you to Scott Herman for creating yet another amazing and challenging workout.

Reps and Exercises:

The challenge for this workout is to do 3 rounds as quickly as possible. You might notice that Scott does body weight squats instead of air squats, but at he mentioned before that you may make alternatives. Take it at your own pace and work hard, but don't kill yourself.  

Round 1 - 3
Bear Crawl (40 feet)
Air Squat (45 reps)
Push-Up (25 reps)


Video:

Jump to It: 10/24/2012

Raking leaves can be a lot of fun! It is a great way to interact with friends and family. It makes the front yard look tidy. You can pile the leaves into those fun little orange pumpkin trash bags to decorate your yard for Halloween. Make a pile the leaves and jump into that pile, and then toss the leaves around just to pile them up again. But have you ever thought that you just might be getting exercise? Well, you are. It might not be high endurance, but you will definitely be burning some calories. A 150 lb person will roughly burn 307 kcal per hour with raking leaves. That is pretty exciting!

Kettlebell Workout 8 of 9: 10/20/2012

I am sure some of you are thinking that it is about time installment 8 of 9 of kettlebell training by Mbodystrength.com is here. The intensity is increased in this 8th installment of the beginner kettlebell workout. Much like the 7th installment, this session has two 20 minute circuits with a two minute rest in between the two circuits. Unlike the 7th installment, there is a whole lot more body weight exercises. This session is sure to test your limits. Push as hard as you can throughout the entire 40 min of this workout. Keep your resistance and intensity high during this workout to make this session a resistance / cardio workout, which will enable you to burn more fat. Why? High intensity training has been shown to increase exercise post oxygen consumption (EPOC) in study participants, and this rise in EPOC leads to larger amounts of fat burned after exercise. I hope that you enjoy this series of kettlebell workouts, because they are enjoyable, fun, and definitely a great way to burn the fat and build muscle.  Push it and each time you do this workout try to beat your last number of sets. This workout series is brought to you by Marcus Martinez from Mbodystrength.com and I hope that you have been able to enjoy these fun and exciting workouts. There is only one more installment left of the series, and as soon as it is made available I will share it to you. Have fun! 

Exercises / Reps

Workout 8 of 9
Circuit 1*: 
Windmill L/R-3
High Pull L/R-6
A Frame Pushup-6
Jump Rope-50

*as many sets in 20 minutes

Rest 2 minutes 

Circuit 2*: 
Goblet Squat-10
Swing-15
Side Press L/R-5
Weighted Lunge L/R-5

                                  
*as many sets in 20 minutes

Video:

Sugar the Unlikely Killer: 10/19/2012

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And will kill you  



Sugar the evil that we all love. Though it will never initially kill you, it might aid in the process. People don't love rapists, child molesters, murderers, but they do love sugar. Why is this? Well the human body runs primarily on carbs and fats for energy. The human body knows that sugar will give it quick and easy energy. That is one of the reasons why our bodies crave sugary foods. But don't give into temptation. Sugar is linked to foods with empty calories like soda. Empty calories = foods with little to no nutritional value. Meaning all you get is calories and very few vitamins and minerals. Sugar is directly connected to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and is the primary food source for cancer cells. So, yes, sugar will aid in the spreading and feeding of cancer cells. It is time to start limiting your sugar intake. Stop drinking sugary sodas. Take care of your life. Take care of your health. Say no to sugar. It probably wouldn't pass the FDA today if it were up for review, so why would you consume it daily or even hourly?

Let's Play Hardball: 10/09/2012

Today's "MAD" workout is brought to us by John Celis who is the owner of AbsoluTraining and My Bad Methods Magazine. Like many other fitness professionals, he tries to keep his workouts unique and interesting. This workout is a full body ab-explosion! Guaranteed to work your midsection.

Hardball Bodyweight Workout #1 Instructions:
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2): Complete this workout as a circuit with no rest in between exercises and 45-60 seconds rest between sets. Complete 3-4 circuits.
Phase 2 (Weeks 3-4): Complete this workout as a circuit with no rest in between exercises and 30-45 seconds rest between sets. Complete 3-4 circuits performing each exercise for 60 seconds time (ignore reps listed in video).
Phase 3 (Weeks 5-6): Complete this workout as a circuit with no rest in between exercises and 30 seconds rest between sets. Complete 4-5 circuits with prescribed reps/time. Finish the workout as quickly as possible and record your time.

Hardball Bodyweight Workout #1
A1: Suspended Pendulum Swing - 3-4 x 15
A2: Parallette Tuck Jumps - 3-4 x 15
A3: Suspended Overhead Squat - 3-4 x 15
A4: Explosive Plank - 3-4 x 15

Find out more about Jon Celis at http://www.AbosulTraining.com

Favorite Snow Activity: 10/05/2012

Snow has landed in beautiful Denver, CO for the 2012 winter season, so what does that mean for you? It means that it just might be time for you to think about bringing out your skis, snowboards, snow shoes, or what ever else you use as a winter weather activity tool. What ever the winter brings you, may you still be able to enjoy your outdoors for a fabulous healthy activity.

Did you know these activities can burn a lot of calories per hour. A 150 lb person will burn on average this amount of calories with these winter activities per hour.

Shoveling snow 392 Kcal
Cross Country Skiing 768 Kcal
Downhill Skiing 589 Kcal
Moderate Snowboarding 429 Kcal
Snowmobiling 232 Kcal
Snowshoeing 554 Kcal
Ice Skating 429 Kcal

The Presidential Debate Workout- D-Town Style: 10-03-2012

The first Presidential debate of 2012 is upon us and you know what that means? It is time to get physical. Here is a challenge for you. Number one, watch the debate. Two, wear comfortable clothing. Three, have some water handy. And four, get ready to sweat. Here is a workout game that may have found its rules from some similar drinking games.

Here is the game. Every time one of the candidates mentions the following words/phrases do the aligned actions.

Jobs = 5 push-ups

Employment = 5 crunches

Middle Class = 15 sec plank

Economy = 5 squats

Health Care = 15 sec side plank

Gay Marriage = 5 seated tricep press

Immigration = 15 sec glute bridge

Do you think you will survive this challenge? If so, then do it. No fair taking sides on this one. If any of the candidate say the above words then you better work. Now do your civic duty by taking care of your health and don't forget to vote this November (if you are an eligible voter of the USA). 

Your House is a Gym Part I: 10/01/2012

Your house is full of versatile items that you can put to use to make a gym out of your own home. Just look around you and you will see that in your home there are a multitude of items that you can use to get a good workout. Having limited or no access to a gym should never be an excuse to not get a workout in, and, in actuality, that excuse is simply lame. This is the beginning of a small series that will focus on using your home as a gym.

Item #1 Bench

A bench is the perfect item in your home. Not only can it be used for a chest press or a chest fly, but you can use it to angle your push-ups,  perform single leg squats (see video), or to train your triceps. A sturdy bench will even give you the opportunity to perform side steps, side jumps, or even heavy lifting. Check out the quality and sturdiness of your bench before doing heavy lifting or jumping.

Item #2 Heavy Duty Trash Bags and a Duffle Bag or Two

Put some sand into heavy duty trash bags and double them up to secure the sand then put them in different sized duffle bags and you suddenly have a bunch of different weighted sand bags for some fabulous functional training. Weigh each bag and mark the weight with spray paint so you are sure of the weight that you are lifting. Looking for some ideas? Check this video out.

  

Item #3 Basketball

A basketball is a simple item that can have many different uses. Use it to add some instability to a push-up, mountain climbers, or to give you some extra resistance to a Russian Twist. Another great option would be for side ball tosses or even wall balls[see video (though you will not get much weight out of a basketball, you can still get a good workout with one)]. Don't have a basketball? Substitute a volleyball or soccer ball for the basketball, anything round that can bounce.

More items to come in the next few weeks. Have any household item workouts that you would like to share? Feel free to leave a comment and share them with everyone.