Playground Workouts - The Sequel

So Jane and I did round 2 of the playground workout with the Mums from my local school.  I decided to change the session totally from the week before, just to arm them with some extra ammunition when it came to their summer workouts.

Here is the workout we took the ladies through.  I gleaned my ideas from a number of sources, I am not really that original, so check out Turbulence Training and Alwyn Cosgrove if you like what you see here.

I also introduced a new made up exercise by my friend Natasha.  I don't have any photographs of the 'Natasha push-up', but it is basically this;
- perform 1 full push-up and come back to plank position
- in plank position, take right knee to outside right elbow, then repeat on the left side (this is called spiderman)
and TA-DAHHHH  you have just done a Natasha push-up, and you will do 20 of these in total.

Enjoy the workout!!

Playground Workouts

A few of the Mums from my sons school have been asking me how they can workout in the summer, when going to the gym will be difficult.  So myself and fitness goddess Jane, took the ladies through a workout which they can do anywhere.  I wanted to give them enough information that they feel they can do a quick session at home, in the hotel or on holiday.

We hung out in the playground after school, with all the kids too.  Jane and I did a general conditioning class, based on a circuit training format.  The only props we brought along were battling ropes and a resistance band for chin-ups, all the other exercises were using done using body-weight.

We had so much fun, the kids even joined in occasionally.  And it was really cool to see these women working their butts off - I think they surprised themselves at how hard they could work and how empowering some of the exercises were.

The workout ended with the kids doing a tug-of-war and the parents doing a tabata session.

Click here for copy of the workout. Print it out and use it whenever you know you can't make it to the gym.

Dragon Boat Team Workout Sessions

A friend of mine is a member of The New Dragons, who are the current -23 National Dragon Boat Champions! As a fund raiser for the Club Crew World Championships in Macau, the team are offering fun and challenging outdoor fitness classes, which are adapted from their own training techniques.

These classes are to be held on Sundays at 3pm @ Winston Churchill Park, Toronto - starting April 25 until July 18th. Classes cost $15 per session, with the 5th session being free.

I can't make the first session, but plan on testing out my fitness levels the following week. Hope to see you there!! It should be lots of fun.

see after the jump for more information:

Online Workout Resources

time to pick up your skipping rope.

love this image from http://farm4.static.flickr.com

With so many people now offering workouts online, I thought I would list a few of my favourite places to go if I need some inspiration.  Many of these fitness experts provide workouts that are based on bodyweight exercises, requiring little or no equipment - so if you are unable to get to the gym, or off on your holidays, get yourself some great ideas right here!

Womens Health Magazine could be your one-stop-shop for all your workouts.  Great ideas to give you the tools to build your own workouts - or use one of their ready-designed routines by the likes of Rachel Cosgrove.

Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training, has produced loads of youtube videos of wide ranging workouts from 12 minute workouts, bodyweight training, fat loss programs - you name it, he has taped it.

Freaky Fridays with Coach Dos Remedios and Frank Addelia are great to watch and very inspiring, using everything from Valslides, TRX, Kettlebells and Ropes.

Robertson Training Systems specialises in High Octane Corrective Exercise and Performance Enhancement, and has produced a series of instructional videos which are just great.

If you don't mind having her bum and boobs thrown in your face - then BodyRock.tv is the place for you.  She is clearly selling her body to you (which is awesome I might add),  once you get past that there are some great bodyweight workouts that will definitely challenge the average bear.

Over the following weeks, I will be posting downloadable workouts to print at home and take on the road.  These will be workouts that I have designed and performed myself, maybe using my friends as guinea-pigs.

Turkish Get-Up

(www.costumes.org)

No I am not talking about the clobber worn by the Turkish, I am referring to an exercise technique.  Frank from Frankies Training Lab, has produced a brilliant instructional video, breaking down the components of this exercise.

I hardly ever include this in my workouts, but know that it is a super benefical exercise to do.  Check out this video and let me know what you think.  Yesterday I did a few sets of these in the house, using dumbbells as I don't have any kettlebells (yet!) and it felt intense and awesome!!!

Make sure to start including this in your workouts!  And don't forget to check back on Wednesday for a great giveaway.

what is kipping?

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well where I come from kipping was something we did in front of the tele after Sunday Dinner! - "don't wake Dad up, he's kipping".  But in fitness terms, kipping, is a form of pull up that some people consider cheating. It uses multiple muscle-group and requires a hard cardio output, its something akin to how gymnasts would train for the rings. So how to do a kipping pull-up? Starting in the pull-up position using your hips and feet to rock yourself in a continuous movement up and down - basically using momentum. I have tried to do kipping and the results were unfortunate - embarrassing and that was only in front of the kids, not ready to try this at the gym yet.


Here is a video that explains the full technique, people doing up to 100 of them!
The reason I have seen this exercise promoted is to encourage you to use your whole body to increase your work capacity, which in turn increases your power output. 


Do you think its cheating - have you tried it with any success? I am still on the fence with this one as I don't really think I can comment until I actually achieve one!!

People do the craziest things

Thanks to fellow blogger Truth2BeingFit for this great video for an inventive workout on the treadmill.


I love doing my interval training on the treadmill (pre-broken-toe!) but would never think of doing this crazy stuff - I have visions of making a total arse of myself, but still think I might give it a go when the gym is nice and empty.


What do you think?

ditch the crunches

(image from purplemotes.net)

Its widely accepted now that doing a hundred ab-crunches is not the most effective way to obtain a flat belly.
Over the next few weeks I will post some alternative methods for working your abdominal area more effectively using functional (full-body) movements that will strength your core and stabilise your spine.

This week we will look at Mountain Climbers - of which there are a number of variations to suit all levels.

Basic Mountain Climber

Mountain Climber using TRX of course you need TRX suspension rings to do this, and its one of the products on my list to buy. You can check out the product here.

Valslide Mountain Climber again this is another product I must buy, portable and inexpensive, great for on-the-road workouts.  This would be a great exercise to do as Tabata or 30:30 splits.

Stability Ball Mountain Climber this comes from a great video from Craig Ballantyne at Turbulence Training. 6 minutes ab workout without a single crunch in site.  This exercise doesn't look as challenging as it feels - try to cheat on this exercise and you will just fall off the ball.

Cross Body Mountain Climber I use this exercise loads in my workouts - I normally time myself to see how many reps I can do in 1 or 2 minutes.

Let me know if any of this work for you.  Or do you have any other favourite Mountain Climber exercises?

working out when you are sick

I am going to touch wood and say that thankfully I haven't been sick for ages! That's probably a jinx right there.  But what happens when you get sick and you still want to work out, what are the rules - are we allowed?
Common sense screams out that we should fully recover before doing a strenuous intense workout, but would it be ok to just show up and go through the motions with a lighter load? Here is how I would approach it;


I WOULDN'T WORKOUT IF:

• I had a fever
• was highly contagious
• if I  had the trots or nausea

BUT I WOULD TRY TO WORKOUT IF:

• I had a mild cold and the worst was over. For example a runny nose, scratchy throat, sneezing - but I would keep the workout low-intensity.

The worst thing to do is to do a crazy high-intensity workout and hamper your recovery.

Another theory I have heard before is 'if it [the illness] is above the neck, it’s okay, but if it’s below the neck, it’s not okay'.

How do you deal with sickness and exercise?

When yoga and push ups unite!

there was a time that I could do this pose!!

I love trying new exercises and the push up is one of my all time favourites, so I am always on the look out for new variations.

Its been a while since I have been to a yoga class, but still remember my sun salutations with fondness, they are both therapeutic and challenging all at once.  This is why I just love the Hindu push up.

Give it a go and let me know what you think!!


(images from healthhabits.files.wordpress.com and cftampa.files.wordpress.com)

Short on time

Today I literally had 20 minutes to workout and I still need to adapt my workout for my broken toe. This is the workout I came up with and I loved it!!! Why not try it and let me know what you think.

After a 5 minute bodyweight warm-up, I went to the smith machine where I basically did 10 x 10 squats with some fun exercises inbetween with no rest, here's how it looked:

10 squats (145lbs)
2 mins straight-arm plank
10 squats
1:30 mins side-plank right side
10 squats

1:30 mins side-plank left side

10 squats

8 chin-ups on Smith machine

10 squats

1:30 mins cross-body mountain climbers

10 squats

35 tricep dips on bench

10 squats

2 mins straight-arm plank

10 squats

8 chin-ups on Smith machine

10 squats

25 incline push-ups with feet on bench

10 squats

1:30 mins cross-body mountain climbers

then I collapsed on the floor in a heap - it was good!!

now I know there are going to be people (or purists) out there who are shouting at me to get off the smith machine and I totally get their argument.  The natural movement of a squat is not linear, it has up and down movements as well as forward and back, the smith machine inhibits this somewhat. BUT at my gym there is no squat rack and I had a fun, effective workout regardless. If you are interested read this discussion group for more info on the problems with smith machines.

(image from totallytwitterpated.files.wordpress.com)

Where is my 6 pack?

And I am not talking about your beer! I think wanting a set of 6 pack abs is a dream for most people. Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training has just posted what he considers to be the 7 top problems we have for not having that awesome 6 pack.

He covers the following: belly fat covering your abs, lower belly pooch, no lower abs, struggling to get sexy abs, unable to keep a tight tummy, having no obliques and finally you just don't have abs!

click here to see the full article

Wii Your Shape game

Can the new Nintendo Wii replace a qualified professional trainer?
I have just read a really interesting and funny article in the Globe and Mail, test-running this new game.

The concept is pretty cool. The game which retails at around ($75 CDN) comes with a camera which you mount on the TV. You then enter a bunch of information, age, gender, weight etc and then the camera does 2 body scans of you. Now the fun beings......

The voice of 'Jenny McCarthy' then instructs you through a series of exercises, of which you have 480+ to chose from; you see a visual image of yourself next to this perfect blonde virtual trainer and you also get instruction from her about incorrect form and posture.

I am talking blindly about the game of course because I have never seen it and actually don't have a huge desire to try it either.  (Though I imagine it could be a fun drunken party game!!)  I think that is the key for me, it appears to be just another game. When I think of the time and effort I take to make my workouts effective, constantly changing up the weights, tempo, rest times, number of reps and number of sets - it makes me wonder just how effective Your Shape really is.

Have any of you tried this game? Have you had any positive results from it? I would interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Have a fun weekend!!!