Category: Pushup

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Body Blitz Style

10/25/2013

We all know that Step Aerobics is my "soulmate" workout, but my Body Blitz class gives me energy in a much different way. For a full hour, we sweat together, we grunt together, we sometimes even laugh together. Each week I try to come up with new and challenging moves, and each week, my participants destroy the workout. Today's Fitness Friday workout is another Body Blitz style workout, guaranteed to get your heart rate up and your energy blazing!

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Workout - Body Blitz Style

Here are some other Body Blitz style workouts:

Notes about this workout:

Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You don't want to lose momentum, stopping after every exercise to look up how to do them.
The warmup and cardio sections of this workout are designed to do in a set amount of time. This means that you'll work at your maximum level (as hard and as fast as you can) during this part of the workout. Sometimes this might mean that you'll slow down, but as long as you're still feeling challenged, you'll benefit from the workout!
The resistance training sections of this workout are designed to complete a set amount of reps. Be sure not to rush these movements and perform them in a controlled manner. Choose your weights so that you can complete the workout, but it is still challenging for you!
Rest in between sets if needed, but no more than 1 minute!
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.

Warmup

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

Jumping jacks
Squat jumps (jump out into a squat, about halfway down, then jump back up to standing)
High knees
Jump rope side to side (use an imaginary rope, moving both feet together, jumping side to side about 1-2 feet)
Out & in (jump both feet out, then back in, knees slightly bent)

Resistance Training, SET 1

Uneven squats - keep your weight evenly distributed between both heels (25 each side)
Side raise with rotation - brace your abs to keep your torso still (20)
Abductors with weight behind knee - On your back, put one dumbbell behind each knee. Position your knees over your hips and keep the insides of your feet touching. Open your knees, keeping the insides of your feet touching, then close them, (30)
Upright row to overhead press (20)

Cardio, SET 1

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

Resistance Training, SET 2

Squats with heel lift (30)
Overhead tricep extension - keep your biceps by your ears and elbows pointing forward (25)
Standing abductors with weight behind knee - try holding the dumbbell behind your knee (25 each side)
Bicep circles - With your dumbbells in your hands, bring them up to a half-bicep curl so that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Keeping one arm stationary, make small circles with the other hand. Do four circles before moving to the other hand. (15 sets of 4, each side)

Cardio, SET 2

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

Sprint in place
Basketball jumps (180 turn), 30 seconds each direction
Mountain climbers
Ice skaters
Tuck jumps

Body Blitz Burpee Challenge

Core

V-sit extensions (20)
Low plank knee tap - Hold low plank so that your shoulders are over your elbows (neck in line with spine). Gently tap your knees to the floor and return to plank position. (90 seconds)
Cheek to cheek plank - @ 40 seconds in the video (90 seconds)

Stretch

4 Comments

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workout

10/18/2013

2 Comments

What is Tabata you ask? Just like HIIT, Tabata incorporates periods of work with periods of rest. During the period of work, you work at 100% intensity (maintaining proper form of course), then you partially recover during a short rest. The fact that you never "fully" recover is part of what makes this workout so effective. Typically the "work" period is 20 seconds and the "rest" period is only half of that or 10 seconds. This type of exercise was discovered by the Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata, who was known for his work with Olympic speedskaters. Tabata's research showed both aerobic and anaerobic benefits from this type of exercise. For HIIT workouts, you're typically doing high-impact moves that are more "cardio", but for a tabata workout, you can do strength exercises as well as cardio exercises. Due to the high intensity nature of the workout, tabata workouts are typically shorter than a traditional workout. You can use the Tabata protocol with almost any exercise, but lucky for you I put one together for you! The traditional tabata workout is designed to do the same exercise for the whole workout, but what is the fun in that? The first section is four cardio exercises, and the second section is four strength exercises, but don't worry - I squeezed some burpees in there too. Grab your stopwatch (or your favorite interval timer app) and let's go!

Notes about this workout:

Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
This workout is designed in an ON/OFF format. When you are ON, you want to give the exercise EVERYTHING you've got. When you're OFF, walk around and keep your feet moving.
The whole workout once through is 9 minutes (4 minutes cardio, 1 minute burpees and 4 minutes strength). Start with a little warm-up (walking/jogging) to get your muscles warm. Challenge yourself and try and go for a second round!
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.

Tabata Cardio

20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest for each move, twice (total = 4 minutes)

high knees

gymbodylife.com

mountain climbers

oprah.com

switch

kicks

duniafitness.com

jump squats

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workout - jump squat

womenshealthmag.com

Burpee

45 seconds of work, 15 seoncds of rest, one time through (total = 1 minute)

dailymovesandgrooves.wordpress.com

Tabata Strength

20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest for each move, twice (total = 4 minutes)

push-ups

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workout - pushup

womenshealthmag.com

sit-ups

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workout - situp

fitstudio.com

squats

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Tabata Workout - squat

running.competitor.com

plank

womenshealthmag.com

Have you ever done a Tabata workout?

2 Comments

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout

10/11/2013

7 Comments

When teaching a class, especially high-energy classes like my Body Blitz class, I often demonstrate low-impact options for people who may have injuries or are just beginning a workout program. While most exercises can be modified to be low impact, I recently got a request for a whole low impact workout from my friend Lauren's mom. So today, I bring you FitYaf's Fitness Friday LOW IMPACT HIIT Workout.

Low impact exercise is a type of exercise where the amount of stress placed upon the joints of your knees, hips and ankles is relatively minimal. Often times this translates to never having more that one foot off the ground at a time. However, it can also refer to something like swimming, which is a great example of low impact exercise that is often chosen by athletes who have suffered a stress fracture. The athlete is still able to participate in cardiovascular exercise, without putting a large amount of weight on the injured body part.

Last week I posted a high-intensity interval training or HIIT workout, and explained the benefits of combining high intensity intervals with short periods of rest for the benefit of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. The good news? Low-impact exercises can be part of a great HIIT workout too - and that's what I have for you today! This workout plan was designed to help you push yourself to your max without doing any jumps. You don’t need equipment or a lot of space.

Low Impact Exercises

*from Shape.com

Begin by walking or doing the elliptical for 5 minutes. Then, go through the exercises 1-8, doing each one for 50 seconds, as fast as you can while maintaining proper form, and resting for 10 seconds before continuing on to the next move. For your rest, grab a drink if you need to or march in place (just don't sit down). The 5th exercise (lunges) is a 2-for-1, since you'll have to do it once on each side! Once you're finished the 8th exercise, repeat 1-8 again two more times. Including a stretch at the end, this whole workout should take about 35 minutes.

1. Squat

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - squat

Start with feet slightly outside your hips, lower into a squat position with arms extended. Bring your arms down as you push through your heels to stand up. Reach arms overhead and lift your heels off the floor. Return to start position and repeat as quickly as possible for 50 seconds.

2. Reach-through

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - Reach through

Begin in a full plank position with feet hip-width apart, neck in line with your spine and shoulders over your wrists. Quickly kick right leg to the left, as left hand reaches toward right foot, pivoting on left foot. Return to start (rotate back to full plank) and repeat on the other side. Continue alternating sides.

3. No-jump burpee

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - No jump burpee

Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms extended overhead. Push hips back and bend knees to lower into a squat. Place hands on the floor and quickly walk feet back into a full plank position, one at a time. Lower into a pushup if you can. Press up, walk feet back into squat, and stand up, reaching arms overhead.

4. Plank extension

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - Plank extension

From a low-plank position (feet hip-width apart and shoulders over elbows), extend one arm keeping your torso still and hips square to the floor. Return arm to plank and alternate.

5. Lunge (once through on each side)

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - Lunge

Begin in a lunge with left leg forward, arms bent by sides, back knee pointing towards the floor and both knees at a 90 degree angle. Pushing up through your feet, extend legs and rise up onto balls of feet as arms extend overhead, fingertips reaching to ceiling. Return to start and repeat. Repeat on opposite side.

6. No-jump tuck

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - No jump tuck

Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair or box, leaning back slightly. Pull abs in tight, and bend knees about 90-degrees. Point toes lightly on the floor, and bend elbows and hands in front of shoulders. Lift knees up and lightly tap thighs with hands, sitting upright as you draw legs in. Return to start and repeat.

7. Skaters

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout - Skaters

Stand with feet wider than your hips. Bend right knee, putting your weight in your right heel & extend your left leg out, driving your left arm forward and right arm back. Staying low in squat position, shift weight to left leg, lowering into a left side lunge, with your weight in your left heel, right leg extended & right arm forward. Repeat side to side.

8. Plank extension (repeat #4)

Do you prefer low-impact workouts?

FitYaf's Fitness Friday Low Impact HIIT Workout

7 Comments

Friends of FitYaf - Ali gets "Insane" and gains confidence [An Insanity Review]

10/7/2013

1 Comment

I met Ali through her sister Jackie, who teaches at Penn's gym with me. Jackie always described her sister as someone who was full of energy. When I heard that Ali was looking for a new fitness program, I just knew Insanity would be a good "fit" for her! Ali joined me for the live version of the Insanity workout one day, and she was hooked! Read below to hear about her 60-day experience with Insanity!

In early May, I decided to try Sean T’s Insanity 60 Day Program. Let me tell you, the program is aptly named. The only way I could describe the workouts were by using the word, “Insane.” However, I survived the 60 days and can now be officially be called “Insane” (though I’ve been called that unofficially for various other reasons long before).

What were your goals before starting the program?

I chose Insanity to get ready for summer and to challenge myself physically. Also, I was in one of those exercise ruts where I needed a change of routine. I learned that before officially starting the Insanity workout plan, Insanity has you complete a fit test and record your results. This test will be repeated 4 more times throughout the 60 day program. You are given a minute to complete as many reps of various cardio and strength moves as you possibly can. I recall being overconfident and considering skipping the fit test and diving in. I’m happy I took the fit test because it gave me quite the reality check. My goal then became to get through the fit test without slowing down or stopping during the minute intervals. Also, the competitor in my wanted to have more reps logged than Sean T’s "teacher’s pets" that were featured on the DVD.

How did you enjoy the workouts?

The workouts and I had a love-hate relationship, which for me is what I need and crave. I loved feeling accomplished when I completed the challenging workouts. Then I despised how out of shape they initially made me feel. Though Sean T reminded you to go at your own pace, I felt the need to keep up with him, which was not possible for me for some exercises. The workouts would repeat throughout the weeks and the exercises that I dreaded did become easier to complete as I became conditioned to the program and what it demanded from your body. The workouts all begin with a 10 minute cardio warm-up and are followed by a 7 minute stretch before starting the circuits. In the beginning of my Insanity journey the stretching segment felt too long for me as I just wanted to keep my heart rate up and power through the program. As the DVDs got progressively harder, I looked forward to those long stretches. I really enjoyed Sean T’s different ways to work your abs. Without any crunches, he gets the job done. All in all, I enjoyed the workouts.

What was the most challenging part?

The most challenging part of Insanity for me personally was the push-up component and the power jumps. The push-up sets were part of plank circuits, so your arms are already screaming before you get to the push-ups. Sean T’s push-up speed was also much faster than mine so I was really pushing myself to get faster. Additionally, the power jumps were tiring but also difficult for me because I had to really focus on my form. I tend to have lower back issues and had to really remember to tighten my core and land gently.

Did you meet your goals?

I did meet my goals of feeling better about my body for the beach, and I certainly challenged myself. I also was able to crush my original fit test results while catching up and surpassing Sean T’s featured exercisers.

Were there any unexpected benefits?

I really felt accomplished at the end of completing Insanity. Of all my athletic feats, I felt the most proud of myself after completing the Insanity program. It was also fun to hear people’s reactions when you’d mention that you do Insanity. They’d look at you in awe. I actually took a celebratory picture of myself in my sports bra. I’ve always been very self-conscious of my body and Insanity gave me needed confidence.

Have you ever tried the Insanity workout program?

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FitYaf's "Insane" Fitness Friday HIIT workout

10/4/2013

2 Comments

Two years ago, I completed Shaun T's 60-day Insanity program. After completing the program, I noticed an improvement in my endurance and overall fitness. The program mixes circuit training with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Not only are the workouts super challenging, but after completing this type of exercise, your body benefits from "excess post-exercise oxygen consumption" (EPOC), or what some people call the "afterburn". After you complete the exercise, your body is still recovering and adapting and thus consuming more oxygen. This process allows you to benefit from your workout even when you're done working out! This means that you've worked out, stretched, showered and moved on with your day, and you're still burning energy HOURS later! Who doesn't want that?! This is why you might see some HIIT workouts advertised as being able to achieve the same workout in half the time of a more traditional workout.

While I fully recommend the entire Insanity program, I've put together an "Insane" workout for you to try at home - no equipment necessary! Just turn up your music, set your interval timer & GO!

Notes about this workout:

Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
This workout is designed in a '2 minutes ON/30 seconds OFF' format. When you are ON, you want to give the exercise EVERYTHING you've got. When you're OFF, grab a drink, wipe your sweat, but walk around and keep your feet moving. The OFF section of the workout comes after each 2 minute block of work.
Do each set 3 times through with a 30 second break after each set. When you're done, move onto the next set.
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
Each set is broken up into 4 exercises - do them for 30 seconds each, as fast as you can (with proper form), with no break in between.
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You want to be able to do this workout all the way through without stopping to look something up.

Do each exercise for 30 seconds, then without stopping, move on to the next exercise. This will take 2 minutes to do all 4 exercises in each set. When you've completed one set, take a 30 second break and repeat the same set so that you do each set a total of three times. When you've completed a set 3 times, move onto the next set. This whole workout should take about 30 minutes start to finish, including stretching at the end.

Warmup

Jumping jacks
Squat jumps
High knees
Jump rope side to side

Set 1

Speed skaters
In & out abs
Switch kicks
Mountain climbers

Set 2

Alternating lunge jumps
V push-ups
Crab reach
Burpees

Set 3

Plank jacks
Tuck jumps
Shoulder tap plank
Hi-lo plank

Stretch

This workout has a lot of plyometrics that is going to work your legs! Be sure to give them a good stretch when you're done, making sure to target your quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes and IT band. Don't forget your upper body too!

What did you think? Can you feel the afterburn?

2 Comments

FitYaf's Body Blitz dumbbell workout

9/13/2013

2 Comments

I often talk about my Body Blitz class that meets on Mondays at the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center. We alternate between cardio and resistance training, challenging our bodies in new ways each week. It's one of my favorite hours of the week and always leaves me dripping with sweat, but unfortunately you have to be affiliated with Penn to take my class. I love sharing my workouts with you so you can try them out wherever it is that you're working out - you can check out my 'No Equipment Necessary' and 'BOSU' workouts that follow the Body Blitz format. Today's Fitness Friday workout is a Body Blitz workout that uses dumbbells. Be sure to use a dumbbell selection that is challenging for you!

Notes about this workout:

Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You don't want to lose momentum, stopping after every exercise to look up how to do them.
The warmup and cardio sections of this workout are designed to do in a set amount of time. This means that you'll work at your maximum level (as hard and as fast as you can) during this part of the workout. Sometimes this might mean that you'll slow down, but as long as you're still feeling challenged, you'll benefit from the workout!
The resistance training sections of this workout are designed to complete a set amount of reps. Be sure not to rush these movements and perform them in a controlled manner. Choose your weights so that you can complete the workout, but it is still challenging for you!
Rest in between sets if needed, but no more than 1 minute!
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.

Warmup

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

Jumping jacks
Squat jumps (jump out into a squat, about halfway down, then jump back up to standing)
High knees
Jump rope side to side (use an imaginary rope, moving both feet together, jumping side to side about 1-2 feet)
Out & in (jump both feet out, then back in, knees slightly bent)

Resistance Training, SET 1

Lunge/kick - lunging back and kicking forward with the same leg (20 on each side)
Alternating reverse plank heel slide [11:45] - you can do this by tapping out if you're on a carpeted surface, or by putting a towel under each foot and sliding out (20 on each side)
Hamstring push and fire hydrant with dumbbell - get into the table top position with a dumbbell behind one knee, then push your heel to the ceiling, lifting your knee off the ground, come back to table top and follow it up by opening up your hip into the "fire hydrant' (20 on each side)
Alternating plank rows - (20 on each side)

ultimatebodypress.com

Cardio, SET 1

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

High knees
Lunge/squat/lunge - lunge to one side, jump back to standing, jump in to a squat, back to standing, then lunge to the other side, jump back to standing and jump into a squat and back to standing, repeat
Alternating spider lunge
Double Heisman - hop twice on each side
Frogger burpees - keep your legs wide when doing a burpee

menshealth.com

Resistance Training, SET 2

Sumo squat with heel lift (25)
Alternating weighted uppercuts - (20 on each side)
Moving squats - (squat down, in the down position, take a step to the right one foot at a time, then pushup through your heals - alternate directions) - (25)
Tricep push-ups (on your knees or on your toes) - 20 reps

skinnymom.com

Cardio, SET 2

Do each for for one minute, as fast as you can:

Sprint in place
Hop-hop squat (hop twice to the side, then squat down and touch the floor - repeat in alternating directions)
Alternating spiderman kick-through - from the plank position, start with a spider lunge, then add a kick-through, following through to a straight leg, then come back to plank
Stance jacks
In & out abs

health.yahoo.net

Challenge

Burpee pushup challenge - 8 push-up burpees, increasing the number of push-ups with every rep

Core

V-up, hip lift (20)
Side plank leg lift (20 on each side)
Walking planks (alternating your leading arm) (10)

carolinebakker.com

menshealth.com

Stretch

What did you think of the workout?

2 Comments

Fitness Friday - Gym Rat workout

9/6/2013

0 Comments

I love great workouts that you can do with no equipment - running outside and body-weight exercises are great examples. No matter where you are, you can do these workouts, leaving you with very few excuses for not working out. I was able to do some outside running and hotel-room exercises while I was in Austria and Germany for two weeks, but by the time I got back I realized I REALLY missed working out with other people. As you know, I'm a group-fitness fanatic, but sometimes even being in the gym with other people is enough interaction to motivate me to work harder and get STRONGER! For this reason, I bring you today's 'Gym Rat workout' for Fitness Friday! If you have this equipment in your basement, well then - you beat the system... Otherwise, get to the gym and SWEAT!

Notes about this workout:

This workout alternates cardio with resistance training. You can make the cardio section as high or low impact as you want.
The resistance training portion of the workout involves using a barbell - this doesn't have to be a lot of weight, just something you're comfortable lifting, but is still challenging. You can even use body bars.
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
The workout as written should take about 10 minutes to do - you can repeat it as many times as you want to match you fitness ability (suggested repetitions below)
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You want to be able to do this workout all the way through without stopping to look something up.

CARDIO

5 minutes cardio (choose one)

Treadmill
Stationary bike
Elliptical
Rowing

RESISTANCE

20 upright rows with barbell
5 push-up burpees
1 minute plank
20 side hip-ups (on each side)
20 back squats with barbell
20 tricep dips with barbell on lap
20 bicep curls with barbell
40 lunges (alternating) with barbell on back

Repeat the cardio section followed by the resistance section:

Beginner - 2x
Internediate - 3x
Advanced - 4x

How did you like this workout? How many rounds did you do?

0 Comments

Friends of FitYaf - Lauren's review on Zumba Sentao

9/3/2013

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Lauren and I have been friends since the sixth grade, where we bonded over our common interests of musicals and boys (unfortunately for our friendship, sometimes the same one). We've watched each other grow up, and now I have the pleasure of seeing her become an amazing mother to two beautiful and wonderful children! Recently Lauren took a Zumba Sentao class at La Luna Dance Studio in Bensalem, PA. She had such great things to say about it, so I asked her to share it here - maybe YOU are a Zumba Sentao fanatic and you don't even know it?

Friends of FitYaf - Lauren's review on Zumba Sentao

Lauren was already pregnant with her baby girl here, but I didn't know yet!

Three months ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and even though I lost most of my pregnancy weight, I still have the dreaded “10 lbs” to lose. I will be honest and say I don't go to the gym enough, but I get bored with just using the treadmill or elliptical. So when Groupon had an offer for 10 fitness classes at a local dance studio, I bought it. Why not try Zumba? I had never taken a Zumba class before, but it sounded like fun, and I like to dance, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Fast forward to last Thursday. I called the dance studio beforehand to find out what I needed to bring. “A lot of water and towel. You will sweat!” (she didn't lie!). I was also told that the particular class I wanted to come to was Zumba Sentao or, as it was described to me, Zumba with chairs. I was intrigued.

Walking into the class I was nervous, but the instructor obviously noticed she had a few newcomers and explained Zumba Sentao. It incorporates some Zumba dance moves and with traditional fitness moves, like squats, lunges, crunches, planks, and chair-dips. She said for a first time Zumba student (that's me!) it was a good introduction to Zumba.

Okay, here we go! The music pumped loudly as she got everyone on their feet, standing in front of a chair. We started with basic dance moves, that even I, with no formal dance training, could follow. Then we moved into chair-dips. My triceps were feeling the burn! A little more dancing and then working on our core. Then some more dancing that incorporated squats and lunges. And let's not forget about the chair planks! The hour moved quickly, proving to me that even know I was working hard, I was having fun too. The overall atmosphere was relaxed and I could tell that all the women were enjoying themselves, even though they were complaining about the twenty pushups the instructor made us do at the end of clas.

All in all, I really enjoyed the class and will be going back again. I agree with the instructor that it was a good introduction to Zumba. None of the dance moves were complicated, so even the most novice dancer could follow right along. I recommend Zumba Sentao to anyone who hates “working out”. It never felt like a typical workout and the combination of cardio and strength training kept it interesting. I feel like I accomplished a lot within the hour!

Have you ever tried Zumba Sentao?

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Life Fitness Synrgy360 Training @ Pottruck - training in all planes & asymmetric loading

8/15/2013

2 Comments

A few weeks ago, a shiny, new Life Fitness Synrgy360 was set up on the 4th floor of Pottruck, where I teach group fitness classes. This thing is a playground for adults! When I saw it, my first thought was - can I get one for my basement?! After looking up the price, I realized I'm going to be just fine using the one at the gym. I was beyond ecstatic when I heard that Penn Rec was offering a training on this piece of equipment, followed up by small group training sessions and group fitness classes.

Life Fitness Synrgy360 Training @ Pottruck

Well, the training was this past Monday, and the Synrgy360 is my new best friend! It was a quick training (2 hours) led by a representative from Life Fitness, so I'm definitely not ready to lead a class tomorrow, but she provided the resources we need to get started! Not only does the Synrgy have your typical cable pulls, pull up bar and medicine balls, but it also has a TRX suspension trainer, a TRX Rip trainer, a full set of kettlebells, monkey bars, rock climbing grips, battle ropes - this list just doesn't stop!

The biggest take-home message for me was to vary your exercises to work all "planes of motion" when training for functional movement, posture and muscle balance. The Life Fitness trainer pointed out that most people tend to stay in the sagittal plane while exercising (up/down movements) - squats, pushups, bicep curls, etc. The Synrgy360 is a great tool to do exercises in those other planes as well!

mikeirr.com

Two transverse movements in one exercise on the Synrgy360

Another great take-home message was the importance of asymmetrical training, which takes the emphasis off of bilateral training (working both sides of the body together). If you're doing weighted squats with a barbell on your back, both legs are working together to push the weight back up to standing. As a result, a dominant side of the body can (and will) do more than its share of the work. Moving from a barbell to a dumbbell shifts the focus so that each muscle has to work on its own, resulting in unilateral training. When you asymmetrically load the body, your weight is now off-balance, and you'll have to engage your muscles (typically your core muscles) to correct for that.

Asymmetric Training on the Synrgy360

Rip Drive Squat

Lateral Shuffle with 180 Degree Rotation

Palloff Press

Rip Overhead Axe Chop

But, that was just the beginning of the amazingness that is the Synrgy360. There is so much you can do on this piece of equipment, I'm sure we only skimmed the surface in these two hours.

Have you ever used a Synrgy360? What's your favorite exercise to do on it?

2 Comments

Summer Fling HIIT Fitness Friday Workout

8/9/2013

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A summer fling doesn't last that long, and neither does this Fitness Friday workout. In today's society, we pack our schedules full and barely have the time to fit it all in, but that doesn't mean you have to skip your workout. Check out this full body high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that you can do in just 30 minutes!

Notes about this workout:

This workout alternates high energy cardio with some resistance training. If you are working out indoors and don't have access to a treadmill, substitute high knees for the sprint.
Some of the moves in this workout are high-impact. Please feel free to modify the workout to make them low-impact if necessary.
This workout is designed in a '2 minutes ON/30 seconds OFF' format. When you are ON, you want to give the exercise EVERYTHING you've got. When you're OFF, grab a drink, wipe your sweat, but walk around and keep your feet moving. The OFF section of the workout comes after each 2 minute block of work.
Be sure to stretch at the end of the workout. Check out some post-workout stretches from Health.com.
The first part of each set is 2 minutes of pure cardio. The second part of each set is broken up into 4 exercises - do them for 30 seconds each, as fast as you can (with proper form), with no break in between.
If you're unsure about any of the movements, check out the videos linked to the name of the exercise or google them before you start the workout. You want to be able to do this workout all the way through without stopping to look something up.

Summer Fling SET 1

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Push-ups
Body weight squats
Tricep dips
Calf raises

Summer Fling SET 2

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Shoulder tap plank - hold yourself in plank position and tap your left shoulder with your right hand, then switch
Alternating forward lunge
Crab reach (alternating)
Wide sumo squat

gritbybrit.com

Summer Fling SET 3

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Burpees (with or without a push-up
Body weight squats
Push-ups
Narrow squat

womenshealthmag.com

Summer Fling SET 4

2 minutes

SPRINT (or substitute high knees)

30 seconds each (no break)

Shoulder tap plank
Tuck jumps
Knee tap plank - stant in plank position and lower your knees to tap the floor, then bring them back up to plank
Jump squats

enjoyyourhealthylife.com

Stretch

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Warmup

Resistance Training, SET 1

Cardio, SET 1

Resistance Training, SET 2

Cardio, SET 2

Core

Stretch

Tabata Cardio

Burpee

Tabata Strength

Low Impact Exercises

1. Squat

2. Reach-through

3. No-jump burpee

4. Plank extension

5. Lunge (once through on each side)

6. No-jump tuck

7. Skaters

8. Plank extension (repeat #4)

What were your goals before starting the program?

How did you enjoy the workouts?

What was the most challenging part?

Did you meet your goals?

Were there any unexpected benefits?

Warmup

Set 1

Set 2

Set 3

Stretch

Warmup

Resistance Training, SET 1

Cardio, SET 1

Resistance Training, SET 2

Cardio, SET 2

Challenge

Core

Stretch

CARDIO

RESISTANCE

Two transverse movements in one exercise on the Synrgy360

Asymmetric Training on the Synrgy360

Summer Fling SET 1

Summer Fling SET 2

Summer Fling SET 3

Summer Fling SET 4

Stretch

Jillian [FitYaf]

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