I’ve been talking a lot about exercises and methods of training that you can do at home. Here is a sample of a workout you could do in your own home:
Circuit #1 (go through these exercises without resting between)
--Wall Sits w/Abdominal Contraction 30secs at low angle, mid and high
--Pushups x20
--Russian Twists x40
--1 Leg Hamstring Bridge x3 reps of 30sec holds for each leg
--Feet on Wall Pushups x15
--Pikes x20
--Hindu Squats x40
--Spiderman Pushups x20
--Flutter Kick 30secs
Rest 1min and repeat (twice through)
Circuit #2
--Either Pullups, Supine Pullups, or Bodyweight Rows (depending on what you have to work with) to muscle failure
--Bench Dips x20
--Superman x20
--Hindu Pushups x15
--Gladiator Presses x10each side
--Thinker 1min
--(Yoga Poses) Upward Dog into Downward Dog x10 hold each pose for a couple secs
--Diamond Pushups x20
--6 Inches x1min
Rest 1min and repeat (twice through)
Try this out. It should take you about 40 minutes or so, and happy training!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Isometric Training (from River Weekly 3.6)
Another proven method of training without the amenities of the gym is isometric training. Isometric exercises are static exercises, meaning that the angle of the joint and the length of the muscle do not change throughout the exercise, but the intensity of resistance may. Basically, you’re either pressing, pulling, etc against a fixed object (the wall, a bar, etc) or holding your body in a static position (weights can be used for this).
The primary benefit of isometric training is obvious: you don’t need a gym. Isometric training also offers excellent strength gaining benefits. Though you don’t develop strength in a full range of motion with isometric exercises, as you do in dynamic exercises, isometric exercises are much better than dynamic at increasing maximum strength at the particular joint angle.
What does that mean? It means that, isometric exercises will get you stronger in whatever pose or position you practice them. For example, if you are doing a wall sit, which is an isometric exercise, you will get stronger at the angle at which you are sitting.
Keeping this in mind, you must realize that in doing isometric training, it is important to change the angle of the exercise. Again, let’s use wall squats as an example. In order to get stronger at a full range of motion, you must perform the isometric exercise at a variety of angles—low, mid-low, mid, mid-high, high.
Now that we have the basics of isometric exercises down, let’s highlight some exercises. We’ll start at the top and move down. Shoulders—a great one for the shoulders is the hand stand. If you can’t balance yourself, do a handstand with your feet on a wall, and again remember to change the angle at which you hold the headstand.
Hanging from a pull-up bar will work the back, biceps and shoulders. To hit the biceps harder, change your grip to an underhand position. Placing your hands further apart will really hone in on those lats.
For the chest and triceps, you can hold yourself in either the pushup or dip (or bench dip) position. Both exercises will work both muscle groups. The pushup position will focus most of the load on the chest, while the dip position will focus most of the load on the triceps.
The dying cockroach is a great isometric ab exercise. Basically all you’re doing is holding yourself in a pike position. The thinker (some call it the bridge) is also a good one for your abs as well as your lower back.
As I said earlier, wall sits are a great isometric exercise. These will give you a good burn in your legs, especially your quads. Holding yourself in a hamstring bridge position (on your back, knees bent at a 90 degree angle, butt off the ground) will also work the legs, more specifically, the hamstrings and glutes.
You can also do isometric exercises by pressing against a stationary object. For example, get a sturdy base and press against the wall in a pushup position, as if you were trying to move it. Hold that position for a while, and you’ll begin to feel the burn in your chest and arms.
The primary benefit of isometric training is obvious: you don’t need a gym. Isometric training also offers excellent strength gaining benefits. Though you don’t develop strength in a full range of motion with isometric exercises, as you do in dynamic exercises, isometric exercises are much better than dynamic at increasing maximum strength at the particular joint angle.
What does that mean? It means that, isometric exercises will get you stronger in whatever pose or position you practice them. For example, if you are doing a wall sit, which is an isometric exercise, you will get stronger at the angle at which you are sitting.
Keeping this in mind, you must realize that in doing isometric training, it is important to change the angle of the exercise. Again, let’s use wall squats as an example. In order to get stronger at a full range of motion, you must perform the isometric exercise at a variety of angles—low, mid-low, mid, mid-high, high.
Now that we have the basics of isometric exercises down, let’s highlight some exercises. We’ll start at the top and move down. Shoulders—a great one for the shoulders is the hand stand. If you can’t balance yourself, do a handstand with your feet on a wall, and again remember to change the angle at which you hold the headstand.
Hanging from a pull-up bar will work the back, biceps and shoulders. To hit the biceps harder, change your grip to an underhand position. Placing your hands further apart will really hone in on those lats.
For the chest and triceps, you can hold yourself in either the pushup or dip (or bench dip) position. Both exercises will work both muscle groups. The pushup position will focus most of the load on the chest, while the dip position will focus most of the load on the triceps.
The dying cockroach is a great isometric ab exercise. Basically all you’re doing is holding yourself in a pike position. The thinker (some call it the bridge) is also a good one for your abs as well as your lower back.
As I said earlier, wall sits are a great isometric exercise. These will give you a good burn in your legs, especially your quads. Holding yourself in a hamstring bridge position (on your back, knees bent at a 90 degree angle, butt off the ground) will also work the legs, more specifically, the hamstrings and glutes.
You can also do isometric exercises by pressing against a stationary object. For example, get a sturdy base and press against the wall in a pushup position, as if you were trying to move it. Hold that position for a while, and you’ll begin to feel the burn in your chest and arms.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Bodyweight Exercises
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to any exercise. Bodyweight exercises have a couple on either side, but the advantages tend to supersede the disadvantages.
The major disadvantage with bodyweight exercises you will run into is the fact that you’re always working with a set weight (the weight of your body). However, there are ways to combat this disadvantage.
You can always add extra weight to your body. Throw on a bookbag with 20+ pounds of books in there. You can change the angle at which you are doing an exercise (try a pushup with your hands at your hips, it’s a lot harder) or you can incorporate tougher bodyweight exercises, like the planche pushup (this is a pushup with your feet off the ground and most people can’t do even one rep of these; training is required to master this exercise).
Though you can’t vary the weight you’re using when doing bodyweight exercises, there are still advantages to them. For starters, bodyweight exercises are perhaps the best way to improve your functional strength. Think about it, all of the bodyweight exercises are natural (no equipment is needed, with the exception of a pull-up bar or wall). They utilize movements that you need to use to function.
Bodyweight exercises are also the best way for a person to get into shape if they don’t have access to a gym. Like I said, with the exception of maybe a pull-up bar and maybe a wall or, if you like variety, a swiss ball or something of that sort, you don’t need any equipment.
With this said, let’s return to perhaps the only disadvantage of bodyweight exercises and consider some alternative methods for increasing the resistance and load in these exercises. Since the last edition of River Weekly focused on pull-ups and pushups, we’ll take a look at these two exercises specifically.
If you’re looking to strengthen your back, pull-ups are the exercise for you. Let’s say you’re a novice on the workout scene. If you want a strong back, you can start off doing a pull-up workout that includes supine pull-ups (lay on the floor under a bar and pull your sternum up to the bar), horizontal pull-ups (same thing as the supine, except your feet are on a bench), squat pull-ups (start in a squat position and pull yourself up while straightening your legs), jump-ups (a pull-up with a jump to get you started) and negatives (jump up or stand on a chair so that you get your chin above the bar and slowly let yourself down)
After you master these exercises, you can move on to regular pull-ups with perhaps some changing grips worked in. And then you can start incorporating variations like the straight leg pull-up (legs straight out and pull up), gorilla pull-ups (pull your knees to your chest while pulling up), pull-ups with a clap at the top, weighted pull-up, etc. Eventually, you may find that you’ve gotten strong enough to do one-arm pull-ups.
Pushups are a chest exercise, and if you’re looking to get stronger in that area, you can do it with the pushup. Let’s start at the novice level again. Pushups on your knees are the classic “easy” way to start. Once you feel like these are too easy, move on to the real thing. Then start changing your hand position. Do diamond push-ups, wide arm push-ups, and then you can venture into the world of the pushup from the hip, which is really demanding. Along with the pushup from the hip, you can try some explosive pushups or elevated wall pushups (put your feet on the wall and do pushups), and maybe one day you will master the planche pushup.
Basically these outlines illustrate that you can compensate for the bodyweight exercises’ shortcomings by progressively doing more difficult exercises. There are some who think that you will have a tough time getting stronger with bodyweight exercises, because of the lack of variety in the weight you use. I disagree. I have been adding more and more bodyweight exercises into my workouts, because I would like to be able to do a planche pushup. Right now, I bench press 200+ pounds, yet I can’t do one planche pushup. This just goes to show how strong you have to be (functionally as well as brutishly strong) to do some of these bodyweight exercises.
Happy training!
The major disadvantage with bodyweight exercises you will run into is the fact that you’re always working with a set weight (the weight of your body). However, there are ways to combat this disadvantage.
You can always add extra weight to your body. Throw on a bookbag with 20+ pounds of books in there. You can change the angle at which you are doing an exercise (try a pushup with your hands at your hips, it’s a lot harder) or you can incorporate tougher bodyweight exercises, like the planche pushup (this is a pushup with your feet off the ground and most people can’t do even one rep of these; training is required to master this exercise).
Though you can’t vary the weight you’re using when doing bodyweight exercises, there are still advantages to them. For starters, bodyweight exercises are perhaps the best way to improve your functional strength. Think about it, all of the bodyweight exercises are natural (no equipment is needed, with the exception of a pull-up bar or wall). They utilize movements that you need to use to function.
Bodyweight exercises are also the best way for a person to get into shape if they don’t have access to a gym. Like I said, with the exception of maybe a pull-up bar and maybe a wall or, if you like variety, a swiss ball or something of that sort, you don’t need any equipment.
With this said, let’s return to perhaps the only disadvantage of bodyweight exercises and consider some alternative methods for increasing the resistance and load in these exercises. Since the last edition of River Weekly focused on pull-ups and pushups, we’ll take a look at these two exercises specifically.
If you’re looking to strengthen your back, pull-ups are the exercise for you. Let’s say you’re a novice on the workout scene. If you want a strong back, you can start off doing a pull-up workout that includes supine pull-ups (lay on the floor under a bar and pull your sternum up to the bar), horizontal pull-ups (same thing as the supine, except your feet are on a bench), squat pull-ups (start in a squat position and pull yourself up while straightening your legs), jump-ups (a pull-up with a jump to get you started) and negatives (jump up or stand on a chair so that you get your chin above the bar and slowly let yourself down)
After you master these exercises, you can move on to regular pull-ups with perhaps some changing grips worked in. And then you can start incorporating variations like the straight leg pull-up (legs straight out and pull up), gorilla pull-ups (pull your knees to your chest while pulling up), pull-ups with a clap at the top, weighted pull-up, etc. Eventually, you may find that you’ve gotten strong enough to do one-arm pull-ups.
Pushups are a chest exercise, and if you’re looking to get stronger in that area, you can do it with the pushup. Let’s start at the novice level again. Pushups on your knees are the classic “easy” way to start. Once you feel like these are too easy, move on to the real thing. Then start changing your hand position. Do diamond push-ups, wide arm push-ups, and then you can venture into the world of the pushup from the hip, which is really demanding. Along with the pushup from the hip, you can try some explosive pushups or elevated wall pushups (put your feet on the wall and do pushups), and maybe one day you will master the planche pushup.
Basically these outlines illustrate that you can compensate for the bodyweight exercises’ shortcomings by progressively doing more difficult exercises. There are some who think that you will have a tough time getting stronger with bodyweight exercises, because of the lack of variety in the weight you use. I disagree. I have been adding more and more bodyweight exercises into my workouts, because I would like to be able to do a planche pushup. Right now, I bench press 200+ pounds, yet I can’t do one planche pushup. This just goes to show how strong you have to be (functionally as well as brutishly strong) to do some of these bodyweight exercises.
Happy training!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Abdominal Misconceptions
The abdominals (the rectus abdominus and the obliques) are the muscles that most everyone associates with the core, and the abdominals are the muscles that most inexperienced people at the gym either over-train or don’t train effectively.
Two common misconceptions in ab training are that you can train abs just about everyday, and the crunch is the most effective exercise. There are also other misconceptions associated with ab training, and I’d like to address some of them here.
First of all, the abs are just like any other muscle. They require rest periods to recuperate and grow. You should not train abs everyday.
You also don’t need to get in hundreds and hundreds of reps to train your abs effectively. Again, the rectus abdominis and external obliques are just like any other muscle. Getting them stronger and bigger requires added resistance (i.e. weighted exercises). You should shoot for 8-20 reps per set and gradually increase the resistance.
There is also a common belief that training the abs will inevitably get you a 6-pack. It may, but in order to see that 6-pack, you need to lose the fat around the stomach. Training abs all of the time won’t do this.
The misconceived practice of training a particular area of the body in order to lose fat around that area is called spot reduction, and its practice is rooted in fallacy. Your body won’t lose fat around a particular area just because you devote more time training it. You lose fat where you are genetically predisposed to do so. Some people lose fat around their waist first, some lose it around their thighs first.
You can’t choose where you want to lose fat first, your body does that. So, in order to see results around your mid-section, you must follow a good diet and burn excess calories. And in actuality, the abdominal muscles are such small and minor muscles that training them doesn’t really burn that many calories. Walking burns more calories than ab exercises.
To see more results out of your ab workouts, you need to do exercises that recruit the hip flexors. Muscles function best when working with other muscles, so getting the hip flexors involved in working your abs will stimulate the muscles more. Exercises like the bicycle and hanging leg tucks to this.
Also, you can’t work the full range of your abdominal muscles with the standard crunch. In order to do this, your back has to arc about 30 degrees backward so that your abs are in a stretched position, and you can’t very well bend backward when you’re lying on the floor. This is why you should incorporate either crunches on the decline bench or the Ab Bench. These two pieces of equipment allow for a full range of motion.
Now that I’ve dispelled some common ab myths, let’s review. 1. Abs are just like any other muscle, they need rest. 2. They also need increased resistance to grow. 3. Spot reduction is bull. 4. Caloric defecit is required to shed fat so that you can see the abs. 5. Recruit the hip flexors in your ab routine. 6. Also, do exercises that allow for a full range of motion.
Hopefully you’ve taken something away from this and won’t find yourself working hard on your abs and seeing no results because of ineffective training principles. Train right and train hard and you’ll get that 6-pack. Happy training!
Two common misconceptions in ab training are that you can train abs just about everyday, and the crunch is the most effective exercise. There are also other misconceptions associated with ab training, and I’d like to address some of them here.
First of all, the abs are just like any other muscle. They require rest periods to recuperate and grow. You should not train abs everyday.
You also don’t need to get in hundreds and hundreds of reps to train your abs effectively. Again, the rectus abdominis and external obliques are just like any other muscle. Getting them stronger and bigger requires added resistance (i.e. weighted exercises). You should shoot for 8-20 reps per set and gradually increase the resistance.
There is also a common belief that training the abs will inevitably get you a 6-pack. It may, but in order to see that 6-pack, you need to lose the fat around the stomach. Training abs all of the time won’t do this.
The misconceived practice of training a particular area of the body in order to lose fat around that area is called spot reduction, and its practice is rooted in fallacy. Your body won’t lose fat around a particular area just because you devote more time training it. You lose fat where you are genetically predisposed to do so. Some people lose fat around their waist first, some lose it around their thighs first.
You can’t choose where you want to lose fat first, your body does that. So, in order to see results around your mid-section, you must follow a good diet and burn excess calories. And in actuality, the abdominal muscles are such small and minor muscles that training them doesn’t really burn that many calories. Walking burns more calories than ab exercises.
To see more results out of your ab workouts, you need to do exercises that recruit the hip flexors. Muscles function best when working with other muscles, so getting the hip flexors involved in working your abs will stimulate the muscles more. Exercises like the bicycle and hanging leg tucks to this.
Also, you can’t work the full range of your abdominal muscles with the standard crunch. In order to do this, your back has to arc about 30 degrees backward so that your abs are in a stretched position, and you can’t very well bend backward when you’re lying on the floor. This is why you should incorporate either crunches on the decline bench or the Ab Bench. These two pieces of equipment allow for a full range of motion.
Now that I’ve dispelled some common ab myths, let’s review. 1. Abs are just like any other muscle, they need rest. 2. They also need increased resistance to grow. 3. Spot reduction is bull. 4. Caloric defecit is required to shed fat so that you can see the abs. 5. Recruit the hip flexors in your ab routine. 6. Also, do exercises that allow for a full range of motion.
Hopefully you’ve taken something away from this and won’t find yourself working hard on your abs and seeing no results because of ineffective training principles. Train right and train hard and you’ll get that 6-pack. Happy training!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Core of Injury Prevention
This week's edition of River Weekly profiled the exercise (swiss) ball and its uses in core training. Here's a little more information on the core and its importance in injury prevention.
Injury prevention—this is a term, as athletes, we have probably heard a thousand times, maybe more, maybe enough that we gloss over it in our mind with canned axioms (more stretching, icing, taking care of pain so that it doesn’t develop into injury, etc), maybe enough that we fail to consider it at its core. Injury prevention, at its core, depends on the strength of the athlete’s core.
Athletic injuries are most often a result of overuse, and injuries from overuse are commonly associated with a lack of core strength in an athlete. For example, weak hip muscles causes the hip/trunk position to be askew when the foot strikes the ground while running. This is a frequent cause of knee injury.
In basic terms, core strength is essential in bodily alignment, which minimizes overloads on joints, and it is a foundation for strength in the limbs, which helps bodily movements to be more efficient. To effectively train the core, an athlete needs to concentrate on more than just the abs (rectus abdominis).
The core includes the following muscles: Transverse Abdominis, Rectus Abdominis, Multifidus, External Obliques, Internal Obliques, Quadratus Lumborum and Erector Spinae. In simpler terms, it is the abs, obliques, and muscles of the mid/lower back and hips.
This means that a strong core starts not only with the abs, but with the back and hips as well. So, training these areas, whether it be a concentrated movement designed to target core (like crunches and hip rotations) or a byproduct of another exercise (such as lunges and dead lifts) is essential in optimal athletic performance and injury prevention.
Stay tuned for some sample core exercises/workouts!
Injury prevention—this is a term, as athletes, we have probably heard a thousand times, maybe more, maybe enough that we gloss over it in our mind with canned axioms (more stretching, icing, taking care of pain so that it doesn’t develop into injury, etc), maybe enough that we fail to consider it at its core. Injury prevention, at its core, depends on the strength of the athlete’s core.
Athletic injuries are most often a result of overuse, and injuries from overuse are commonly associated with a lack of core strength in an athlete. For example, weak hip muscles causes the hip/trunk position to be askew when the foot strikes the ground while running. This is a frequent cause of knee injury.
In basic terms, core strength is essential in bodily alignment, which minimizes overloads on joints, and it is a foundation for strength in the limbs, which helps bodily movements to be more efficient. To effectively train the core, an athlete needs to concentrate on more than just the abs (rectus abdominis).
The core includes the following muscles: Transverse Abdominis, Rectus Abdominis, Multifidus, External Obliques, Internal Obliques, Quadratus Lumborum and Erector Spinae. In simpler terms, it is the abs, obliques, and muscles of the mid/lower back and hips.
This means that a strong core starts not only with the abs, but with the back and hips as well. So, training these areas, whether it be a concentrated movement designed to target core (like crunches and hip rotations) or a byproduct of another exercise (such as lunges and dead lifts) is essential in optimal athletic performance and injury prevention.
Stay tuned for some sample core exercises/workouts!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Push-up and Calf Raise Variations
Here are some variations of the push-up (one River Weekly's "Exercises of the Week"):
And the calf raise (the other "Exercise of the Week"):
I plan on posting some videos on in-home and quick workouts, so stay tuned.
And the calf raise (the other "Exercise of the Week"):
I plan on posting some videos on in-home and quick workouts, so stay tuned.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
James River Rugby: Box Jumps
I figured I should post a blog, since google planned on terminating my account due to lack of activity (oops).
I recently revived the James River Rugby newsletter. In it, I wrote an article about getting into "rugby shape," in which I mentioned box jumps. Box jumps were also one of the exercises of the week in the newsletter. I thought, since I have this blog I never use, I could use it as a platform for supplemental information based on information in the newsletter.
So, for starters, here is a video with some box jump variations:
The video shows lateral box jumps, one-leg jumps, and twisting jumps. You can also incorporate weighted jumps, in which you hold a weight, alternating leg jumps, alternating leg lateral jumps, jumping over the box, and many more. You can even make up your own patterns.
Happy training, and stay tuned to more supplemental information.
I recently revived the James River Rugby newsletter. In it, I wrote an article about getting into "rugby shape," in which I mentioned box jumps. Box jumps were also one of the exercises of the week in the newsletter. I thought, since I have this blog I never use, I could use it as a platform for supplemental information based on information in the newsletter.
So, for starters, here is a video with some box jump variations:
The video shows lateral box jumps, one-leg jumps, and twisting jumps. You can also incorporate weighted jumps, in which you hold a weight, alternating leg jumps, alternating leg lateral jumps, jumping over the box, and many more. You can even make up your own patterns.
Happy training, and stay tuned to more supplemental information.
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