Balanced Training - Lessons Learned

I recently had to deal with some annoying shoulder pain that was hindering my workouts and becoming quite discouraging. I went to a chriopractor for a while but saw limited results. Finally a massage therapist was able to help diagnose and fix the problem and, after some recovery time, it's nearly back to normal. During this time though I learned two very valuable lesson when it comes to weight training.

1. Don't over do it - As much as I enjoy lifting, I have to remind myself that weight training 7 days a week will take a toll on my body. And, muscles aren't able to recover and GROW unless they are given time to rest. Building in rest days to your weekly workout routine is crucial to avoiding injuries and seeing maximum strength gains.

2. There is such a thing as too much pushing - Let's face it guys, we all want bigger chests and shoulders and, if not careful, we can fall into the trap of flooding our workouts with pushing exercises; bench press, shoulder press, pushups, incline/decline press, etc. These are great exercises but they need to be balanced with pulling exercises as well to maintain good posture and equal strength on both sides of your body. If you've ever seen a weight lifter whose shoulders are pulled in so far they appear about ready to touch each other in front of their body...you've seen someone who is doing a lot of pushing and not much pulling. Balancing these exercises out will also help avoid injury to areas such as your shoulders which bear a lot of the burden during the presses.

Learn these lessons and apply them to your workouts to help avoid injury and maintain a well-trained/healthy body. Good luck!

Conditioning For Non-Runners

There is a common misconception out there that if you want to improve your conditioning, you have to spend hours on end running mile after mile. Now, for those of you like me, who can't stand to be on a treadmill for more than 5 minutes or get bored just thinking about pounding pavement....I've got a few suggestions for you. Because, good cardiovascular conditioning CAN be achieved without running 5k's.

The basis of improving your cardiovascular conditioning is to elevate your heart rate for a sustained period of time during your workout. Running will certainly do this, but it's not the only way. Using equipment like a rowing machine, an Airdyne bike, or a jump rope can accomplish the same goal. Find a group of conditioning exercises that you enjoy and put them into a circuit training workout. For example:
- Row 500 m
- Jump Rope 100x
- Ride the Airdyne for 3 mins w/ a :10 sprint at the top of each minute
Repeat this circuit 10 times as fast as you can. Be sure to time yourself so you can see improvement over time. You could also add some short distance sprints into the mix or exercises like burpees or mountain climbers. The point is - play around with it and continue to challenge yourself while making it interesting - you will see major improvements in your conditioning....and no treadmill required!

Remember, don't think that if you're not a runner you'll never be able to improve your cardiovascular conditioning. There are other ways to skin the cat....get creative and have fun with it!

54" Box Jump - The Box Jump/Chinup Workout

Anybody that knows me knows one thing....I like to jump! Always have. It's a movement that combines explosiveness with maximum power into one quick movement. The workout I've outlined below takes box jumps and pairs them with chinups, an upper body equivalent that focuses on maximum power output. One thing to remember when going through this workout: the key is PROGRESSION. You're going to be doing 8 rounds of jumping and 8 rounds of chinups. With each round you need to go higher and heavier than the round before. The number of reps you can do will naturally decrease....that's ok. This workout is about POWER.

The workout: Superset box jumps with chinups - 8 total rounds. My workout is listed below but you will obviously have to tailor the height/weight to your own abilities. The first two sets of each should be used as a slight warmup with the last six being taken to failure each time. If you can't do bodyweight chinups, use either an assist machine or wrap a band around the chinup bar and use that for assistance.

Box Jumps (height/reps): 36"x12, 39"x10, 42"x9, 45"x8, 48"x7, 51"x5, 54"x2, 54"x1

Chinups (weight/reps): BWx12, 17#x9, 26#x8, 35#x6, 45#x4, 50#x4, 61#x3, 75#x2

Note: To do weighted chinups, use a weight belt and attach kettlebells. If your gym doesn't have kettlebells, you can also use dumbbells or weight plates.

Good luck and have fun with this one! Give it your all and push yourself to the limit with each set.

Exercise Review: The Single Arm Dumbbell Lift

Anyone that has lifted for any significant amount of time has no doubt done their fair share of dumbbell exercises....bench press, shoulder press, incline press, chest flies, curls, and the list could go on. These are great exercises and should be included in any weight training program. But, I want to give you a slight variation to try that adds a different element to these common lifts. In your next workout, do your dumbbell exercises one arm at a time. For example, if you're going to do an incline bench press, take just a single dumbbell and do your reps with one arm and then switch it over to the other hand and do them with that arm.

Doing the exercises in this way will still give you the same workload on the targeted muscle group as before, but what you'll find is that your core also becomes very involved with these exercises. The idea behind this is that you are putting your body in an imbalanced state. By doing so, you're forcing your core to work and contract during the lift in order to stabilize the rest of your body. So, in essence, you're killing two birds with one stone by working the intended muscle group while also working your core. It's a win-win situation!

Give it a try and remember to keep pushing and challenging yourself every time you step in the gym!

Friday's Boot Camp Workout at FBD

Rob Hudson put together a killer workout for us on Friday at Fitness by Design. Give this one a try and I guarantee you you'll feel it the next day!

*Be sure to stretch/warmup prior to starting the workout - about 10 mins should do it

Round 1: Lower Body
- Deadlift x 10 reps: Use a weight that allows you to complete all 10 reps but puts you near failure as you reach the final rep
- Explosive Jumps x 5 reps: As soon as you finish the last deadlift, take a couple steps back from the bar and immediately begin your explosive jumps. Start from a squat position and jump straight up as high as you can. Perform these in quick succession
- Lunges x 10 steps: If BW lunges aren't challenging enough, place a barbell on your shoulders. Take 5 steps with each leg

Perform the Lower Body circuit twice with a short break in between

Round 2: Upper Body
- DB Bench Press x 10 reps: Use a flat bench and go as heavy as you can
- One Arm DB Row x 10 reps each arm: Again, use a flat bench and perform the rows one arm at a time pulling the DB up tight to chest level each time
- Overhead Carry x 100 yds: Grab two DBs and press them straight up over your head. Lock out your arms and walk quickly for 100 yds.
- Single Arm Bicep Curls x 10 each arm: Using a DB, do 10 reps on each arm
- DB Skull Crushers x 10 reps: Lie on a flat bench and press the DBs straight up above your forehead. Slowly lower them down to ear level while just bending at the elbows, engaging your triceps. Push them back to full extension and repeat

Perform the Upper Body circuit twice with a short rest in between

Are You Tracking Your Results?

If I asked you to show me the progress you have made in the gym over the last 6 months, could you do it? And, no, "I feel better" or "I look better" is not the answer I'm looking for. I'm talking about real, quantitative results that show your progression over time. If you're working with a trainer on a regular basis, then the answer should be "YES". He/she would be able to pull your chart and go exercise-by-exercise with you showing your increases and gains. But what about those of you working out on your own? Do you keep track of your workouts - the number of sets, reps and weight that you are doing every time you hit the gym? If the answer to that question is no, then, at the end of the day, your answer to my initial question is going to be pretty vague, or simply "NO". Tracking your workouts will allow you to maintain consistency over time and constantly push yourself to reach new heights.

If you have taken the time to sit down and set specific goals for yourself like we discussed in an earlier post, then you owe it to yourself to track your progress so as to determine if you are in fact reaching those goals. So, here is my suggestion - go to Wal-Mart on your way home and pick up a notebook and start recording your workouts and other activities today. Keep track of your workouts, bike rides, jogs, etc. and, before you know it, you'll begin to see the progress you want.