[Being part of The Pull-up Academy] continues to be an incredible chance to get back to my fit self …
This is a woman who had suffered a shoulder injury which caused her to lose her Chin-ups for 2 years. After just 4 months she has regained strength, confidence, and has found herself leaner as she easily performs 6 unassisted Chin-ups. Now she’s unstoppable.
Your fit self is who you are when you’re strong, healthy, and believing in your ability to keep going. You may also feel pretty confident in your own skin.
Notice it has nothing to do with numbers; it has everything to do with who you are.
I am happy to report that I feel like my fit self. You’ll hopefully see that my function and strength are returning – though my conditioning needs to catch up – but more important than these external changes is the inner shift that happened over the holidays: that what I believe about myself within my circumstances is what will make or break me. The last few years have brought pain, loss of confidence, along with a burden of guilt over my desire to regain what I once had. Even though I still have pain and some limitations, and even though my body isn’t as it once looked, it’s really good. Finally I have reached a place where I can embrace the fit self I can be TODAY!
What holds you back most from embodying your “fit self”?
Join the conversation below.
The Workout:
I set my Gymboss miniMAX Interval Timer for 5 cycles (at a time) of 20 seconds for recovery / 40 seconds for effort and I completed 3 total rounds of the following 5 exercises:
Step Up (leading with right leg)
Step Up (leading with left leg)
Roundabout Swing (using 12kg)
Push-up/Pike Push-up Death Combo
Dynamic Squats
Let me know if you try this workout!
Happy 2017 … It’s going to be a great year for Myomytv so be sure to sign up for my Newsletter to stay up to date on all the new happenings 🙂
Cheers,
Marianne
PS – If you buy a gymboss through text or banner links on my pages, I will earn a wee bit of money for that. I have been a gymboss affiliate since 2010 because I loved them then and I love them now. Especially because it one more thing I can operate that’s not on my phone.
Another Wee3 Workout to keep you on track with train in general or a specific goal. Today I chose 3 exercises that I felt provided a little more balance as a full body workout.
While I decided not to use my Gymboss miniMAX Interval Timer, some of you may decide to set this up with intervals rather than set reps.
The Workout Breakdown:
Complete 3 rounds of the following with breaks as needed:
Vertical Pull Burpee: 3×10 reps
Inverted Row: 3×10 reps
Hip Thrust: 3×20 reps
Modify or substitute as needed and remember, the point is not to do something that seems like too big a mountain to climb; the point is to accomplish consistency.
PS – If you buy a gymboss through text or banner links on my pages, I will earn a wee bit of money for that. I have been a gymboss affiliate since 2010 because I loved them then and I love them now. Especially because it one more thing I can operate that’s not on my phone.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in trying to get stronger or meet specific goals is changing things too often. Today I want to show you how to put together your own program from the vast array of workouts here on the site 🙂 By doing this, you will see more progress in your training goals and be able to set more realistic goals in the future.
:::: Remember that different coaches will have different styles, but each coach should take the things I am listing into consideration ::::
If you chop and change the exercises too frequently, you will never get stronger at them, so keep doing the same workouts for 4-6 weeks at a time. Don’t give up before you give them a chance!
The good thing is that most of my workouts provide you with the means to reach most general fitness goals at home. While the real heavy lifting can mostly only be performed in the gym environment, I personally feel that major progress (or at least maintenance) can be achieved with your body weight and some Kettlebells/Dumbbells etc. Progress for beginners; maintenance for experienced lifters. However, I would argue to experienced lifters that a period of “maintenance training” can aid in much needed recovery/mobility work that can then carry forward into the next phase of your more intense training – it provides a boost, so to speak.
Much in the same way as you would Create a Balanced Workout, I advise you to first select the important movement patterns (in various directions of movement) to help cover all bases, and then simply chose the exercises/or ready-made balanced workouts from my archives that fit the bill and make sure that you cover each movement throughout the week.
Simple, right??
If it was, I don’t think there would be so many trainers out there designing imbalanced workouts and imbalanced programs. But that’s a whole other article/rant!
In order to try to keep things as simply as possible, I have included what I consider to be the most basic/essential elements to cover. More specialised/specific elements can be added down the road, or you can request a more detailed and personalised program by emailing me at: mvk_82@hotmail.com
Basic Movements to try and include throughout the week –> with consideration given to bilateral, unilateral variations and the direction of the movement ( eg forward and backward; up and down; side to side, rotation etc)
Upper Body Pull –> Single Arm Rows, Renegade Row, Pull/Chin Ups etc
Front Core –> Front Plank (stabilise), hanging leg raises (mobilise) etc
Side (rotary) Core –> Side Plank (stabilise), Side Bend (mobilise) etc
As you can see, there is quite a lot to think over, but on top of that you need to consider the following:
Changing the direction
Often, we get stuck moving one direction and even more so, we get stuck standing in one spot while exercising. This is good for many strength exercises, but not good for overall movement quality, agility, balance, co-ordination and … even FUN! So we must move in all directions to get the full benefit of our training. This is something I learned the hard way :-/
You might be thinking “when will I ever get the time to include all this stuff?” well, many of these things can be included in your warm up and even as part of a conditioning “finisher” after your strength section
:::: Remember that just because you don’t use a lot of weight in some directions, does not mean you are not getting stronger –> because strength should be build on strong movements ::::
Some ideas to add in (maybe once per week for variety):
– Side Lunges, Monkey Hustle,Moon Walking(as demonstrated by the lovely Nia Shanks *Teehee*)
– Rotational exercises (Russian Twists, Figure of 8, Chops, Band Rotations etc)
Activate, Mobilise, Strengthen, Stretch and Stabilise
Again, a lot to consider. But have a think about what your training AND lifestyle are doing to your body or, indeed, not doing. For example: do you have tight ankles, tight hips, poor core or shoulder stability, shortened hamstrings or dormant glutes??
You may not even know if you have any existing problems, so I recommend trying to cover most of these by:
Adding Glute Activation and Mobility drills to your warm-up – if you know you have an “issue” with Hip Mobility (for example), this is when you should spend a little extra time on it.
Or – you can activate or mobilise areas right before a specific exercise or between sets eg: Bird-Dogs and Hip Mobility work between sets of Hip Thrusts or KB Swings.
Strength being the focus of the workout … strengthen your body as a unit working together (which is why I love full body training)
Work on Stability at the end of the workout – save your planks, overhead carries etc until you have done the bulk of your training, so as not to fatigue those smaller muscles
Stretch as part of your cool-down.
This way you will cover most things in a more time-efficient manor.
In my workout archives, I may not cover everything above (btw I am planning on bringing a little more organisation and variety to the options), but every workout will have good balance between many elements discussed. Variety in the direction of movements and your own activation, mobility, stretching work will need to added in places.
Putting it all together
While it might seem super complicated, all you need to do is decide how many times per week you want to / are able to train and then design (or take) those workouts which include complementary elements. For example, Day 1 you choose a Goblet Squat, Day 2 you choose Lateral Lunges and Day 3 you choose Weighted Step Ups. Each is a Quad Dominant exercise, yet you have included bilateral movements, lateral movement and unilateral throughout the week. You try to include different variations of the movement patterns in each workout and then repeat said workouts each week for 4-6 weeks. Each time you perform them you want to improve in any of these ways:
– Better form (increased range of movement etc)
– More reps with the same weight
– More weight with same reps
– More advanced variation of exercises ( eg: progressing from shoulder-elevated push ups to full push ups)
You might not cover everything in any one program, so don’t get too obsessed all the extra considerations – the most important thing is that exercises are balanced in the most basic ways (upper lower/push and pull). So remember that each 4-week-phase is a chance to work on something that you didn’t focus on before. For example, in Month 1, you might have included more rotational exercises for the core, so in Month 2, this is a chance to change it up and maybe work on rotary stability. You simply cannot work on everything at once but you can choose what you want/need to work on, based on your current progress and your short-term goals.
Free Sample Program
Because I am a very nice person 🙂 I have built a sample program for you, using some of my pre-made workouts and a few extra elements to help you see what it all looks like as a finished piece.
And there we have a series of workouts that you are free to do every week for the next 4 weeks. You can do them in any order and decide on the recovery style you like/need between each day. When it comes to how to “live out” your program, there will be a little trial and error: some people might cope well training 4 days in a row, other may not.
EXTRA NOTE:
If you are someone who prefers upper/lower body splits, then you still should apply the same considerations to movement patterns and the directions above, however you could add in 2 of each movement, or mix some compound exercises (at the start of the workout) with some isolation exercises (at the end).
Example:
1) Pull Ups: 3×5-7
2a) Single-Arm Row: 2×8-12
2b) Double Military Press: 3×5-7
3a) Dynamic Push-Ups: 3×8-12
3b) KB Windmill: 3×8
Finish with 3 round of the following sequence:
– Bicep Curls: x 15 reps
– Lateral Raises x 15 reps
– Tricep extensions x 15 reps
You can also add in “Finishers” that focus on the other body parts – so, you might have an upper body strength session followed by a lower body Tabata, or Sprints etc.
And that’s a wrap, folks 🙂
This article is meant to help you understand that designing an effective program takes a little bit of time and planning, but is worth the extra effort and organisation because it helps you commit more to your goals and it will be easier to measure your progress.
Hopefully it is helpful for you and that you will provide feedback below –> feel free to add to the content by leaving suggestions for your fellow readers 🙂
Today, I decided to do my first Kettlebell workout in over 2 weeks! There are times I like to change things up, so this last while I decided to start walking EVERYWHERE. Last week, I walked a total of about 30 miles. This week will be over 20 🙂 When the weather is clear and dry, I just love walking in the crisp air.
Over the next while, I plan to do 2-3 gym workouts, 1 KB workout and a LOT of walking. Keep things fresh!
The workout ended up being quite a long one in comparison to the usual - however it was fun and challenging, so I hardly saw the time go in.
The Workout
Set your Gymboss Classic Interval Timer for 10 cycles of 20 seconds rest and 40 seconds effort. Complete 3 rounds in total of the 10 exercises and complete one set of the "Bridging Combination" after rounds 1 and 2.
My reps per exercise and weights used are recorded in brackets below:
Stand-Kneel-Stand (right) (16kg) (13, 13, 12)
Stand-Kneel-Stand (left) (16kg) (13, 13, 13)
Renegade Row (2x16kg) (17, 16, 16)
Two-Handed KB Swing (20kg then 24kg) (30, 30, 29)
Side to Side Step Ups (42, 40, 40)
Push Press (right) (14kg then 16kg) (15, 10, 9) 16kg was tough!
Push Press (left) (same) (15, 11, 11) - better this side
Single Leg RDL (left) (20kg then 2 x 16kg) (8, 7, 7) - balance was my main issue
SL RDL (right) (same) (10, 8, 7)
Burpees (10, 9, 9)
Bridging Combination
Seated Band Abductions x 20 reps
Pull Ups x 6 reps (or do a row)
I just loved this workout - it was the perfect mix of exercises 🙂
Hope you enjoy it too! Please let me know about the Comment section --> vote yes or no for the new set-up!
So it’s been a while since I posted a workout. Sorry about the wait, but I have been preoccupied with getting my New Project up and running, and I have been making a real effort to balance my work life and play life. Because I enjoy my blogging and Personal Training so much, I have the tendency to spend too much time networking online and not enough time nurturing my offline relationships. So this is something I am changing. Not only am I setting myself work hours for my online stuff, I am setting myself days off. Imagine that!
The other thing that is happening is that I am finally reducing my nursing hours from 3 to 2 nights per week to help reduce over all stress on the work-life front and give me more freedom to boost my Personal Training Projects. There are so many things just around the corner that I am so excited about and can’t wait to share with you. If I could be more specific, I would!
Speaking of projects, I have had countless requests for a post on my mobility drills and more info on my spinal movement “rehab” I have been talking about. I am waiting on the publication of an excellent article by Dave Dallanave on this topic (an article he privately sent me a month or two ago as a way to offer his help to my SI Joint situation). I want to use this article as a reference, so I’d rather wait until his article is posted 🙂 But I will get all the info together for you, so you can all decide for yourselves if the same drills will help you. In other words – I’m on it 😀
Now onto today’s workout!
The Workout
Couplets Couplets, glorious couplets! I love em!
There are 5 couplets and I aimed to perform 2-3 rounds of each before moving on to the next one. In reality, I performed 3 rounds of the first couplet and 2 rounds of all the others (except couplet 3, as I explain in the video). Some couplets are more strength-focused (with set reps) and others give you a blast of conditioning/cardio type exercises (intervals).
For the interval-based couplets, set your Gymboss Interval Timer for either 4 or 6 cycles of 20 seconds rest and 40 seconds effort (or what ever times you prefer) and complete the said rounds.
Couplet 1
Good Old Goblet Squat x 12 – 15 reps (24kg)
Diamond Push Ups x 12 – 15 reps (15, 12, 12)
Couplet 2 (intervals 20/40)
Burpee (minus Push Up) (16, 14)
Two-Handed KB Swing (24kg) (27, 28 )
Couplet 3 (only demonstrated the first exercise due to SIJ Pain)
Single-Leg Deadlift (right and left) x 12 – 15 reps each leg
Double KB Bent Over Row x 12 – 15 reps (2x16kg)
Couplet 4 (intervals 20/40)
Side to Side Bench Jump Overs (about 48 – 52 reps)
Dynamic Squat (30, 30)
Couplet 5
Side Bends (12kg) x 12 reps each side
Plank Climber x 40 seconds (didn’t count)
This was a good workout today. I found couplets 1 and 2 the most challenging! I really like the Diamond Push Ups!
Hope you all enjoy it and I’ll be back soon with more 😀
