Lately I have been very motivated to train, which is doing me a world of good. Mostly though I have been training in the gym, or at classes where I benefit from one of the best driving forces I know … competition, or a need to prove people wrong.
Here is a little video of me talking about it. I really hope you will leave your opinions below to share all the little things we muster up to get us from “I can’t be bothered” to “Hell, yeah, I’m going to kick some butt” (or whatever variation of that LOL).
How do you get yourself to train, even when you don’t want to?
This workout was filmed on Friday (with my Flip Camera, as I was still waiting for my new camera to arrive), so apologies for the crap lighting etc. Friday was one of those days where you can’t seem to get anything done – and I blame the weather, because it poured the whole day!
This workout was an attempt to get me motivated and prepare my metabolism for the meat feast of a dinner I had planned for that night.
Anyway, with this workout I was aiming to increase the challenge by either increasing the weight I used, increasing the speed or performing a more advanced variation of the exercises or just increasing the reps. For this reason I decided to use a mixture between set reps and set times. As I was maximising the intensity by increasing the speed or weight, I decided to use my Gymboss Interval Timer set to 30 seconds for all timed exercises to allow me to push to the max throughout the interval.
The Breakdown
Complete 3 rounds of the following 8 exercises and try to use a heavier weight than usual (if you are ready to progress ie You can perform the exercise at a less advanced level, with good form):
(My weights are in brackets)
KB Front Squat (right) x 10 reps (20kg)
KB Front Squat (left) x 10 reps (20kg)
Two-Handed KB Swing x 30 seconds (24kg)
Renegade Row x 20 reps (2 x 16kg)
Alternating Single-Leg Hip Thrusts x 30 reps (total)
Jump Rope High Knees x 30 seconds – I didn’t count my reps and got whipped 🙁
Pull Ups x 5 / 4 / 3
That was it. I really enjoyed this workout and was surprised I could manage so many of the front squats and elevated push ups! Need to get back working on my pull ups though.
After a week of no camera, I can’t wait to try my new one out next week.
Hope you enjoy this workout and will forgive my disjointed writing today. Excuse = nightshift … So I’m off to my pit people.
On Friday, my mum and I went away to a lovely hotel to treat ourselves and we had a great time. After eating WAY too much (like I wasn’t going to take full advantage of a buffet), I am ready to work out today! Below are some photos from the hotel break.
Here’s the view from our room:
My mother:
Me all dressed up for our luxury dinner:
Anyway, now let’s get back to the matter at hand…
Mixing Kettlebells, bodyweight, strength, conditioning and, high intensity interval Tabata, I believe many of you will be challenged by this as much as me. This workout is great for full body fitness and will also help you burn fat, if that is a goal. More importantly you will be working at improving your performance and feeling good about it 🙂
Today I included a slightly different KB snatch, the Dead Snatch, which will help you work on correct set up (loading of the hamstrings), explosive power (triple extension of the ankles, knees and hips) and the vertical direction of the snatch, while saving your grip. I love this variation of the snatch, but that is typical of me because it works more on power and speed, rather than endurance. You can afford to go a little heavier on this one, and I have tried it before with the 20kg, but I stuck with 16kg today as I wanted to do more reps. The 12kg and 14kg were way too light for me and the KB just went flying, with little control.
Workout Set-up
Complete 3 progressing sets of each exercise combo before completing 1 set of a bridging exercise (pull ups). As there are 3 combos, you will have completed 3 sets of each combo, plus 3 sets of pull ups. Choose your pull up reps based on just below your max (for me this was 5, as my max is 7). This way, you are maintaining your pull up strength without over training these muscles by working to failure every time you practice them.
After completing the above section, then move on to the body weight Tabata to finish the workout.
Section 1
This section mixes set reps (within a range) and set times. So you will need a stop watch or interval timer.
Kettlebell Clean to Front Squat to Military Press (left) x 5 – 12 reps
Kettlebell Clean to Front Squat to Military Press (right) x 5 – 12 reps
(SET 1 – 12kg x 12 reps, SET 2 – 14kg x 8 reps, SET 3 – 16kg x 6 reps, for both sides)
Pull Ups x your own maintenance reps (me x 5)
Kettlebell Renegade Row x 45 seconds (SETs 1 & 2 – 2 x 14kg x 18 reps, SET 3 – 2 x 16kg x 15 reps)
Two-Handed Kettlebell Swing x 45 seconds (20kg x 31, 30, 30 reps)
Pull Ups x 5 reps
Kettlebell Dead Snatch (left) x 8 – 12 reps (ALL SETS 16kg x 8 reps)
Kettlebell Dead Snatch (right) x 8 – 12 reps (ALL SETS 16kg x 8 reps)
Pull Ups x 5 reps
Section 2
Set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 8 cycles of 10 seconds rest and 20 seconds MAX effort. Complete 2 rounds of the following 4 exercises:
Dynamic Push Ups
Side to Side Step Ups
Burpee (no push up)
Light Sumo Squat Jump
Now cool down and stretch 🙂
Final note – Loved this workout, really enjoyed the Dead Snatch. Hip still bothering me and I do think it is my AS flaring up. Well, I had a good run pain free – 18 months! The only exercise I really felt the pain was strangely in the pull ups. The weight of my legs pulling down on the SI joint was probably the reason. Let’s hope it doesn’t get any worse.
However, if Gillian can work through her aches and pains, then I can grin and bare this. Might need to add more stretches :/
I know it’s not exactly summer but in Ireland we get very excited at the first sign of summer and tend to all rush outside in our T-Shirts and shorts out of fear the sunshine will disappear (as it often does) – so I wanted to make the most of the warmest day of the year so far 😀
This workout is great for conditioning, some strength development, core, cardio and fun. It is a circuit of about 3 rounds of 10 exercises, mixing kettlebells, body weight, set reps and set times. You can add a bonus set of Pull Ups to the end of each round, if you want to work on your vertical pulling strength.
As I am aware that my usual workouts tend to focus on progressive overload for building strength, I thought I would show you how to use set reps with the same weight for several sets or rounds. Remember that the body loves to be challenged and if you play with tempo and reps, you can still achieve great changed to your performance level and your physique. A circuit like this one is a great addition to your weekly training routine and, depending on your goals, you can use this set-up once, twice or even 3 times per week, for full body conditioning and fat loss (depending on your diet of course).
This workout is a good one to start with if you are a beginner, or new to the site 🙂
Anyway, the Table below is a combination of all 3 levels (Advanced, Intermediate and Beginner). In each column you will see a recommended rep range and set time for each exercise. These are only a guide and may either be too easy or too difficult, depending on the weights you have available. So, either increase the reps you do, or decrease the tempo. Alternatively you can play about and see what challenges you the most (while maintaining good form).
[table id=26 /]
I know this table layout won’t go down well for those who print them out … hands up – I was being lazy 🙁
I also only did 2 rounds of this workout as I have some DOMS from my heavy weights yesterday, But, I am attending the KB class tonight, as my sister is coming for her first time – so want to be there for moral support 😀
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this workout, and it really in good to be back. Let me know how you get on.
This post is a long time coming and I hope you are all in the mood for a good old discussion.
A while back there was a post that brought up a lot of issues were people reported stories of becoming obsessed with being lean. This brought to mind my own experience with once wanting nothing else, but to have 15% body fat.
Steven Bratman, MD, author of Health Food Junkies — Orthorexia Nervosa: Overcoming the Obsession With Healthful Eating, coined the term to denote an eating disorder characterised by an obsession with eating foods deemed healthy.
Laura’s story was one that spoke volumes to me:
“…I went through the obsession with exercise and body image, body fat and food intake about 6 years ago. I had gotten down to about 15% bodyfat and held there for about 2 years. I worked out like a fiend and watched every single crumb that went into my mouth. Living that way caused so many problems not only with my own physical body (it’s never healthy to maintain such a low body weight for such a long time as I lost my period for those 2 years and my system, quite frankly, never recovered)… but beyond the physical problems I faced, I was setting a horrible example in front of my 2 daughters that caused them to become obsessed about their appearance and weight. This opened my eyes and I realized how damaging this kind of behavior can be.”
Then there was Amy, who said :
“...i used to FREAK out it i was late for a meal… if it was coming up to lunch time and i wasnt able to eat lunch i would freak out.. because i thought if i missed a meal it would ruin my metabolism.
i would decline dinner invitations i would stress if we got invited out to people for dinner , i would eat NOTHING anyone else cooked...”
And Karmen who is currently in recovery from having an extremely low body fat % said:
“…my portion were very small and i almost destroyed myself! I am still not Recovered with my hormones!because i had too little body fat percentage my hormones dropped to zero!!…”
What starts out as a desire to be healthy, becomes an obsession that eats into every aspect of your life, whether you realise it or not.
While Orthorexia is not directly linked to the obsession of getting lean, I personally believe they go hand in hand. A person who is Orthorexic, often ends up cutting so many things out of their diet that they end up with an extremely low calorie intake. Coupling that with the fact that the image of “fitness” is usually someone with a six pack, and fitness = health, you can guarantee that people who want to look “healthy”, also want to look lean. I sure did, and so did everyone here.
On Todays Dietitian I read an article that tells the story of an 18 year old Orthorexic:
“…who began her struggle with food when she started eliminating all carbohydrates, meats, refined sugars, and processed foods from her diet. By the time she had gotten rid of all of the foods that she thought were not “pure,” she had brought her daily calorie intake down to only 500…”
On Medical News Today an article talks about behaviours we may recognise:
“Sticking to their regimen takes strong willpower and they feel self-righteous and superior to people who do not have such self-control…By contrast, if the orthorexic breaks their health-food vows and succumbs to a craving for a ‘prohibited’ food, they feel guilty and defiled. This drives them to punish themselves with ever stricter dietary rules or abstinence…“
Some people may say, “what’s wrong with eating healthy or wanting to lose body fat?” Well, on the surface, nothing, but it is when something is taken to extremes, where your life revolves around becoming a certain way, looking a certain way, eating only foods that are considered healthy, living in a self-made prison, that something has gone wrong. It’s not just our physical systems that dislikes extremes, it is also our psyche that alters due to extremes. You become stressed, anxious, moody and isolated to name a few – It is when things go too far that our systems fail us. And not just in our bodies and minds, but also in our support network. Who wants to invite a judgemental, arrogant health freak out for dinner, or coffee?? What about the influence this behaviour has on our children? Impressionable minds not only mimic what they see and hear, but often exaggerate it too. Meaning the next generation could be even more obsessed with being “healthy” and/or lean!
Maybe I am too lazy to try, jealous at other for being leaner than me or, MAYBE it’s just not worth the hassle giving up certain foods, being careful with calories, being obsessed with exercise … it exhausts me just typing it! For me, the end result does not justify the means, because look what you’re left with. If you need to compete in a lower weight class in power-lifting or enter into a bodybuilding competition, that is slightly different. But everyone trying to get super lean is just ridiculous and nobody should feel pressurised to look that way.
Since overcoming my battle with this body image, I have decided to focus on what I can do FIRST, before worrying about how many ab muscles I can see. I actually got told here once that I didn’t look “in shape”, so my workouts mustn’t work! For one, I know I am in shape, but what made me laugh the most was that it is because I am not super lean that I get mistaken for untrained. So I will highlight for those of you how are confused as to why I don’t look leaner – along with referring you to my last article HERE, it is down to total calories in vs total calories out! No magic diet, just simple maths! I eat about the same energy as I expend, meaning my body fat % stays the same. So what if it’s 20 odd %, it’s what you do with it that counts, right??
Not sure if you are having these issues, check out the self-test below – not sure how accurate it is, but it illustrates the mind-set you develop:
The Bratman Test for Orthorexia
— Do you spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about your diet?
— Do you plan your meals several days ahead?
— Is the nutritional value of your meal more important than the pleasure of eating it?
— Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet has increased?
— Have you become stricter with yourself lately?
— Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthily?
— Have you given up foods you used to enjoy in order to eat the ‘right’ foods
— Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat out, distancing you from family and friends?
— Do you feel guilty when you stray from your diet?
— Do you feel at peace with yourself and in total control when you eat healthily?
— Yes to 4 or 5 of the above questions means it is time to relax more about food.
— Yes to all of them means a full-blown obsession with eating healthy food.
Feel free to leave your views below, or start a thread on the Forum.
Hi everyone,
