Weekend Workout #9

Warm up  5-10 minutes
To increase body temperature and elasticity in the muscles:
Walk or Jog easy for 3-5 min and include some high knees and butt kicks (bringing heels up to butt muscles) as you are running or walking.

The following workout looks simple on paper but certainly is NOT.  Try to push yourself as hard as you can, besides it's only 2 exercises...right?


Workout  
This 2-exercise circuit is performed as a repetition ladder.  Beginners will start by performing 2 reps of each exercise and immediately cycle back and do 4 reps of each exercise and so on up to 6 reps for each exercise.  Advanced will start with 8 reps and continue 5 rounds up to 16 each.  Perform each exercise without any rest between.  If you find this easy and are looking for more, once you  reach 6 reps (beginner) or 16 (advanced) then cycle back down to the starting rep # (6, 4, 2) or (16,14,12,10,8).

Thruster push-ups - Start with feet and hands on ground.  With knees bent and close to hands, jump feet back into a plank position while you perform a push-up simotaneously.  then immediately jump feet back towards hands.

Prisoner Squat - Just like a regular squat only grasp both hands behind the head (like you are my prisoner doing these exercises)  :-)

Beginner
2 Thruster Push-ups
2 Prisoner Squats
4 Thruster Push-ups
4 Prisoner Squats
6 Thruster Push-ups
6 Prisoner Squats

Intermediate
4 Thruster Push-ups
4 Prisoner Squats
6 Thruster Push-ups
6 Prisoner Squats
8 Thruster Push-ups
8 Prisoner Squats
10 Thruster Push-ups
10 Prisoner Squats
12 Thruster Push-ups
12 Prisoner Squats

Advanced
8 Thruster Push-ups
8 Prisoner Squats
10 Thruster Push-ups
10 Prisoner Squats
12 Thruster Push-ups
12 Prisoner Squats
14 Thruster Push-ups
14 Prisoner Squats
16 Thruster Push-ups
16 Prisoner Squats

Cool Down  5-10 minutes
Walk easy for 3-5 minutes, then do some easy static stretching (holding each for 10-20 sec.)

Weekly Wednesday Quotavation

"Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what  keeps you going" - Jim Ryun

Core Conditioning #2

Here is a simple but effective core circuit to kick start your week.  This 5-exercise workout will target all muscles of the core, leaving you feeling stronger and leaner. Combine this with your strength workout for a full body workout.  You can do this workout 2-3 days per week, and can repeat the circuit 2-4 times depending on your fitness level.

1.  Side Planks with Swiss Ball - using a small swiss ball, position the ball between both feet and assume a side plank.  The instability of the ball adds to the challenge requiring you to keep the core muscles engaged the entire time.  For an added challenge to this you can raise you top arm, or even have someone try to lightly push that hand down while you try to maintain the side plank position.

2.  Inchworms - start with both hands and feet on the ground, shoulder width apart.  Slowly walk your hands forward keeping you feet stationary.  Once you reach the farthest point you can walk your hands out, now walk your feet forward towards your hands and continue to repeat this movement.

3.  BOSU Ball Rotations with Medicine Ball - While standing on a BOSU Ball, and holding a 4-6 lb. medicine ball, rotate your torso from side to side, keeping your hips facing forward.  make sure you maintain a slight knee-bend while doing this.  This instability of the BOSU ball requires the recruitment of a lot of muscles.

4.  Toe Touches - While lying down, raise your legs up towards the ceiling.  Keeping your legs as straight as you can, use your core muscles to crunch and try to touch your feet with your hands.  Return to the starting position and repeat.

5.  Seated Russian Twists with Medicine Ball - Sit with your knees bend and upper back in a 45 degree angle (don't slouch).  Maintaining a good solid straight back, rotate your torso from side to side as you try to bring ball towards the ground.  For an added challenge, you can lift your feet off the ground, but make sure you don't strain your back doing so. 

Weekend Workout #8

Warm up  5-10 minutes
To increase body temperature and elasticity in the muscles:

5 forward lunges (each leg)
5 side lunges (each side)
10 shoulder circles (each direction)
10 jumping jacks
20 sec. run in place (High Knees)
20 sec. run in place (Butt Kicks)
10 straight-leg kicks (reach opposite arm to opposite leg)

Workout  
Perform each exercise without any rest between.  Rest 1 minute between each round.  Aim for 2-3 rounds.  When finished with all exercises, complete the Metabolic Blast exercises to boost your metabolism to new heights.


Beginner
20 Bodyweight Squats (hands behind head)
10 Pushups (on knees)
40 Jumping Jacks
20 Mountain Climbers (each time a leg that comes forward is a rep)
10 Close Grip Pushups (on knees) (keep elbows close to body)

Intermediate
30 Bodyweight Squats
15 Pushups (plank position)
50 Jumping Jacks
25 Mountain Climbers
15 Close Grip Pushups

Advanced
50 Bodyweight Squats
25 Pushups (plank position)
75 Jumping Jacks
50 Mountain Climbers
25 Close Grip Pushups


Metabolic Blast
(complete the following at a high-intensity level without any rest in between each exercise)
60 sec speed skater (bounding side to side like a speed skater)
30 sec run in place fast
30 sec jump rope (simulate having a rope)
30 sec squat jumps
30 sec skier abs (start in plank position, then jump both feet in and to the left, then jump back to center, and now over to the right and in...repeat this sequence keeping abs contracted for time listed


Cool Down  5-10 minutes
Walk easy for 3-5 minutes, then do some easy static stretching (holding each for 10-20 sec.)

A review from a client

I just got a review on Yelp from one of my clients at Anytime Fitness the other day.  I've personally never used Yelp for locating businesses, but was certainly grateful to her for doing that.  It's always rewarding to get positive feedback from clients and to know that I am helping them make lifestyle changes.

Debra was, ironically, my first client at Anytime Fitness...and she is an avid cyclist.  Being a cyclist myself this was the perfect match to my start.  Thanks for the review Debra!

• Review fromDebra W.

  

  • 0friends
  • 1review

  • Debra W.

  Bend, OR

  

  6/15/2012

  Sloane Anderson is the best personal trainer I've ever had.  He is fun to work with, very knowledgeable and carefully observes my strengths & weaknesses so that he can put together the best exercises.  In addition to his experience he is a very nice guy!

Weekly Wednesday Quotavation

"Being the enemy of Great is good, and Good is not great enough" - unknown

Smoothie recipe #2

I have another smoothie recipe to share, this one from Tiffani Bachus, RD.  This one is similar to my last one, but slightly different.  Smoothies are great options for those who normally don't like to eat fruits/veggies; they eliminate the raw taste but still contain all the nutrients.

This makes for a great post-workout meal helping to minimize inflammation.  The avocado adds amino-acids which will also help metabolize fat leading to fat loss.

THE LEAN GREEN SMOOTHIE

Ingredients 
2 cups water
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup kale
1 kiwi
1 apple
1/2 cup pineapple
1 slice of lime
1/4 avocado

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.  Enjoy!

Fitness Challenge

I'm sure I already have your attention just from the title of this post.  When the word "challenge" is used in a sentence, we immediately want to know what it is.   In terms of fitness, challenging yourself can be a rewarding feeling, but at the same time can be mentally demanding.

I like to offer my clients at Anytime Fitness and other AF members a fitness challenge each month.  I think it is a great way to add variety, fun, motivation, and suffering to a workout.  I use the word "suffering" lightly in the fact that I try to make the challenges hard enough so that you really have to stay focused and push yourself, but not too hard that you are not able to complete the challenge either.

The next Fitness Challenge I am going to host will be this upcoming Thursday at Anytime Fitness at 5:30pm.  I used this challenge in one of my TRX classes that I teach at the Athletic Club of Bend a few months ago.  All exercises are performed using only your bodyweight.  I use 10 exercises and participants have the option of completing 15, 30 or 50 reps of each exercise.  I would like that you determine the number of reps you will aim to complete and stick to that #, rather than do 15 of one exercise, 30 of another, and so on.  If this is your first time trying one of these challenges (and there are many of them out there like this), I recommend that you start with only 15 reps of each exercise.

I like to time how long it takes participants to complete all 10 exercises so the next time we do it they have something to try to beat.  It's also a great tool to measure a person's fitness (strength/cardiovascular/core strength) improvements.  Or even better, one might opt to try 30 reps instead of 15 and try to match the time they do all exercises in (although very unlikely).  With either option you will complete either 150, 300 or 500 total reps...that's a lot of reps in a short period of time.  I did the 500 rep challenge in the TRX class and it took me 12:20 to complete ( I was totally exhausted).

Before trying this challenge, please make sure to have clearance from your physician to participate in strenuous exercise.

Make sure you are well warmed up before beginning.  The exercises will target the upper/lower and core regions so make sure to warm up all areas.  For warm up ideas see one of my Weekend Workout warm-ups.  You can print the warm-up and challenge exercises and take with you to your gym, a park, or do them in the comfort of your home.  Just make sure you have some water, a towel and some air (either a fan, AC, or fresh air) to keep your body temp cool and to stay hydrated.

Here are the Fitness Challenge exercises:


1.  Fast Mountain Climbers 
2.  Jump Squats
3.  Push-ups
4.  Side Lunges (each side complete the # of reps you are doing)
5.  Slow Mountain Climbers
6.  Y-Squats (just like it sounds, squat with your arms up in a "Y" position
7.  Skier Abs (hands and feet on ground, jump feet side to side as if skiing moguls - each time you jump your feet that counts as a rep)
8.  Squats Thrusts (same position as skier abs, only just jump feet back and forward)
9.  Dirty Dogs (with your feel and hands on ground and in a reverse V position (^), touch your R hand to your L foot and repeat on other side.  Each rep counts towards the # of reps you are completing)
10. Burpees (saved the best for last...hope you still have some energy left)

I may try to post a video form the Challenge we will be doing at Anytime Fitness on Thursday.  So far I believe 6 people have committed to trying it.

If you have a fitness challenge of your own and would like to share, feel free to leave the exercises in the Comments section below.

Good luck!  Let's get a little competition going on this site by posting your times in the Comments Section below in how long it took you to complete the circuit.  List the number of reps you did and the time to complete and your name.  

Smoothie recipe #1

I've been getting many people asking me for a good smoothie recipe.  So, below I am going to list one of my favorite smoothies for you.

I don't like to recommend a smoothie as a meal replacement, but rather a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.  Although there are many smoothie options available (high protein, or high carb) I like to combine the best of both worlds and make one with good carbs and good proteins.

THE GREEN MACHINE
Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1 banana
1 organic egg (must be organic - less inflammation)
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 scoop whey protein powder
1 Tsp coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach
water (as needed)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix on high for 20 sec.  Then add some crushed ice and water (if needed to thin out a little) and mix on high for 30-60 sec.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

 I have recommended this smoothie to several of my clients and family members.  Some, have never eaten spinach before and say they loved it.  WOW!  Just like that I have introduced a healthy vegetable to a few clients' diet.  

Weekend Workout #7

Warmup
Jog easy for 3-5 minutes, then do the following exercises for 30 seconds each, twice.

jumping jacks
side lunges (alternate)
side shuffles (both directions)
seal jacks (same as jumping jacks, but bring hands together in front rather than overhead)
arm circles (both directions)
jumping jacks

Workout
perform each exercise without any rest between.  Rest 30-60 sec. between rounds.  Aim for 2-4 rounds.

Beginner
High knee run in place (20 sec.)
Jumping Jacks (20 sec.)
Sprint 30 yards (1 set)
Push-ups (5)
Side planks (20 sec. ea side)
Push-ups (5)

Intermediate
High knee run in place (1 min)
Jumping Jacks (1 min)
Sprint 30 yards (2 sets)
Push-ups (10)
Side plank with hip drop (30 sec. ea. side)
Push-ups (10)

Advanced
High knee run in place (1 min.) (2 sets)
Jumping Jacks (2 min.)
Sprint 30 yards (4 sets)
Push-ups (20)
Side plank with hip drop (1 min. ea. side)
Push-ups (20)




Cool Down  5-10 minutes
Walk easy for 2-3 min. and then do several static stretches (holding each for 10-20 sec.) without bouncing.

Support local farms

In an effort to help support local farms and help the environment by reducing emissions, Jenny and I belong to a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) program.  Do you have one in your area?  If so, I would highly recommend that you participate in it.  Not only will you support local family-owned farms, but you will notice how much BETTER your produce will taste.

CSA's are formed by local farmers in an effort to help educate us all in how to shift our diets to include more "in-season" produce and how to store and preserve for the winter months.   When you belong to a CSA, you have the opportunity to choose how the food is grown.  We choose to have no pesticides, herbicides, and no artificial fertilizers used; which helps to avoid toxic residues on food.  It is nice to know that we are eating freshly harvested, locally grown produce because ultimately this is the staple of a healthy diet.

The CSA we belong to is the Happy Harvest Farms, a family-owned and operated farm located in Mt. Angel, OR.  We partnered with our neighbors so that we split the cost and amount of foods provided each week.  Each Wednesday our neighbor picks up a few baskets of produce and we divide the items in half.   This works out great for us because since it is only Jenny and I we wouldn't be able to eat all the produce before it would spoil.  Then other benefit to having fresh produce in the house, is that it forces you to eat more of it, because you know that if you don't eat it quickly it will spoil.  And eating too much produce has never been a problem.  We just received our 3rd delivery, and the items we received included 3 small baskets of strawberries, some green leaf lettuce, some beets, green onions, Swiss chard, and zucchini.

Along with belonging to a CSA program, we will also visit the local farmers market (held every Wednesday) to buy certain other produce and meat items.  I am happy to spend a little more for produce knowing that the items we bought were just harvested.

Eat fresh, be happy! Support local.

Core Conditioning #1

Along with my weekend workouts I am going to begin posting several core exercises you can do to help improve strength in that area as well as to improve overall balance of your body.  Most exercises can be done without any pieces of equipment, however, some will require the use of either a dumbbell or medicine ball.

Today I have 8 exercises for you that do not require any pieces of equipment...just a good attitude and a little energy.  Start with 30 seconds of each exercise and work up to 1 minute.  Rest only as needed between each exercise.  Start with 1 set and work up to 2-3 sets

1.  Standing Russian Twist - Stand with knees slightly bent, arms extended out to sides, now rotate torso side to side keeping arms straight and hips facing forward.

2.  Mountain Climbers - Start in a plank position, now bring one knee up towards your chest and return as you bring the other knee towards the chest.  Continue this motion, slowly getting faster until you are running in place.  Keep the abs engaged and if the low back starts to sag stop the exercise.

3.  Squat Thrusts - Start in a plank position, now jump both feet towards your hands and then return them back.  Continue this motion of jumping feet forward and back (like a burpee without the pushup or stand up).

4.  Side Plank - Just like a regular plank only stack your feet on top of each other on your side.  Keep your hips elevated so they do not sag towards the floor/ground.

5.  Inchworms - Stand with feet together and hands on the ground/floor, now slowly walk your hands on the ground away from your feet to the farthest point you can, now walk both feet towards your hands and continue to repeat.

6.  Rocky Solo's - Sit on the ground with both legs extended, with your upper body straight up.  Keeping legs flat on the ground rotate your upper body to the left and then to the right and continue to repeat.

7. Toe Touches - Lye on the ground with both legs extended up in the air (perpendicular to the ground).  Keeping your legs lifted, crunch your upper body and try to touch both feet with both hands, slowly lower your upper body down and then repeat.

8.  Plank with Arm Lifts - Start in a plank position (either on hands or elbows).  After holding for about 10 sec. lift one arm straight out ion front of you, then return back the ground and then lift the other hand off the ground.  Continue to repeat. 

Weekly Wednesday Quotavation

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it" - Plato

June Health Questionnaire Answers

In case you were curious as to the answers for June's Health Questionnaire, here they are.  If you did not take the test or are visiting the site for the first time and want to see the questions, click here

1.  B
2.  C
3.  C
4.  B
5.  A
6.  D
7.  A
8.  D
9.  A
10.  A

Why is "tapering " before an event important?

I work with many clients who have the mindset that they have to continuously push themselves without ever tasking time to let the body rest and rebuild.  Part of my job as a Trainer is to educate my clients why they need to let their body rest and and allow it to repair and rebuild so that they can continue to make gains in strength and fitness.  If we never let the body rest, it will inevitably "break down" or become fatigued and ultimately begin to lose fitness.

The same goes for someone who is training for an event or competition.  I often train athletes in cycles, where the volume and intensity increase each week, pushing their weekly adaptations to new levels.  Then scheduling recovery weeks to allow the body to make the gains and rest.  If we don't allow for tapering or "off weeks", fatigue and overtraining will occur and the athlete will not continue to progress physically.

The idea of a taper is to allow an athlete to maximize their strength and fitness gains that were made over the previous weeks of training, and come into a race/event well rested and feeling fresh.  During a taper, the weekly volume of training will typically decrease but the intensity remains high.  It's typical for an athlete to get antsy during the weeks of a taper; the feeling that he/she may be losing fitness will cross the mind more than once.  It's important to get as much rest (not doing many other chores outside of training) as possible.  Resting not only let the body recovery, but also the mind.

The length of a taper varies for each person and the length of the event that he/she will be competing in.  In order to truly perfect the taper, a trial and error is one of the best approaches.

Finally, there are 3 different types of tapering strategies: minor, moderate and major.
1.  Minor tapers typically only require about 1-5 days of recovery leading up to an event (usually a smaller distance event).
2.  Moderate tapers will last anywhere from 5-14 days before an event, and tend to be included for higher priority races.
3.  Major tapers last as long as 21-28 days and are scheduled for the highest priority races, and are usually for longer distance endurance events.\

So if you are an athlete in training and an important event is coming up, consider giving yourself a taper week or two.  

Weekend Workout #6

I apologize, I completely forgot to post a workout last weekend.  I hope you were able to motivate yourself to get in a workout; whether it be one of my previous workouts or one of your own.

I've got a great workout planned for you this weekend, good luck and have fun!


Warmup
Jog easy for 3-5 minutes, then do the following exercises for 30 seconds each, twice.

jumping jacks
side lunges (alternate)
side shuffles (both directions)
seal jacks (same as jumping jacks, but bring hands together in front rather than overhead)
arm circles (both directions)
jumping jacks

Workout
perform each exercise without any rest between.  Rest 30-60 sec. between rounds.  Aim for 3-5 rounds.

Beginner
8   Reverse Lunge with Knee Lifts (lunge back with left leg, then step forward and lift the left knee up towards chest (if you have dumbbells you can also include a shoulder press as you lunge back)
5   Lateral Lunges w/ Knee Lifts (lunge to one side and squat down, then return as you bring your knee up)
5   Push-ups
5   Inverted Hamstring (stand on 1-leg and lift arms out to sides at 90 degrees, then keeping back flat bend at waist and lift opposite leg towards the sky, then switch sides)
10  Split Squats
5    Tricep Dips (you can do these on a step, or a bench - whatever is nearby) - keep legs straight for a more challenge, and bent to make it a little easier

Intermediate
16  Reverse Lunge with Knee Lifts
10  Lateral Lunges w/ Knee Lifts
15  Push-ups
10  Inverted Hamstring
20  Split Squats
15  Tricep Dips

Advanced
25  Reverse Lunge with Knee Lifts
20  Lateral Lunges w/ Knee Lifts
25  Push-ups
15  Inverted Hamstring
25  Split Squats
25  Tricep Dips

Metabolic Blast
(complete the following without any rest in between ea exercise)
60 sec jumping jacks
30 sec run in place
20 sec mtn climbers
30 sec skier abs (start in plank position, then jump both feet in and to the left, then jump back to center, and now over to the right and in...repeat this sequence keeping abs contracted for time listed.

Cool Down  5-10 minutes
Walk easy for 2-3 min. and then do several static stretches (holding each for 10-20 sec.) without bouncing.

Weekly Wednesday Quotavation

Here is something I have been a big proponent for and hope that someday will happen, however, considering who quoted this it may still never happen...

"The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition" - Thomas Edison