Phenomenal Abdominals - Where's your end of the year six-pack?

Food and merriment are everywhere - let's close out this year IN SHAPE and READY for our new fitness journey come 2016.




I seldom do "target" training workouts ... however ... an ab-focused conditioning medley is acceptable. :) You have the option of not jumping or going quickly in all of these. Go at your pace but work hard and accomplish something so you feel great when you're done. You have no excuses - most if not all of the workouts I put into this blog do not need anything more than your body. So, put on some jolly music and have at it!




This is in PYRAMID style by number and time. Follow the sequences - I wrote them out. But, in essence, if the exercise is going by time, it's: 20 secs, 30 secs, 45 secs, 30 secs, 20 secs. If it's going by number, it's: 5 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 5 reps.


Here it is:




MINDLESS WARM-UP:


* Jumping Jacks or Side Taps - 1 minute


* Jumping or Walking Half Burpees (no pushup) - 1 minute


* Jog/March in place or Run/Walk and Tap - 1 minute


REPEAT THAT PROCESS ONE MORE TIME for a total of 2 sets!




AB-FOCUSED CONDITIONING:


1). Alternating Forward Lunges (yep ... that's abs)
     - If you have dumbbells, go ahead and hold them. Every time you push back to feet together, make sure you CONTRACT YOUR ABDOMINALS!! No thrusting your torso back with each push. Head shoots up towards the ceiling ... keep that imaginary basket of goods on your head and use your core for stability and balance.


2). FULL Sit ups or Sit up to Stand
     - Some trainers swear against full sit-ups. If you have any back issues, just do crunches. If you're in great shape, roll from a sit up into a standing position ... if you have a medicine ball, go ahead and use it.




The Sequence:
5 alternating lunges (each side - so, a total of 10)
5 sit ups (whatever option you choose)
8 lunges
8 situps
10 lunges
10 situps
8 lunges
8 situps
5 lunges
5 situps


NOTE: I do not mention a rest. If you need one, maybe a 10 second break between each set. If you need more of one, then 30 seconds tops after each set (lunges/abs then rest).




3). Regular Plank (forearms)




4). Oblique Side-Lying Crunches
     - Beginner: Laying on your right side, your right arm is straight in front of you, left hand on your head. Crunch your left elbow towards your left foot. Legs are bent.
     - Intermediate: Same thing, but with both hands on your head and the left leg raising up - left knee to left elbow
     - Advanced: Same thing, but with both hands on head and BOTH legs lifting up off the floor - straight up (NOT FORWARD!) and left elbow touches left knee




5). Superman (Straight line for this one)
     - Feet together and tight ... arms parallel to each other (whether they're overhead with palms facing each other or along your sides with palms facing up), stay in straight body form and lift your legs and chest up from the floor.




6). Spiderman




7). Hollow Body Rocks
     - These are the opposite of Supermans ... lying on your back, hollow your core/abs and keep your legs tight and together, arms along your sides. Lift your upper back off the floor and your legs off the floor. Rock your body forward and back.




8). Side Plank (forearm) (With option top leg abduction/raise)




The Sequence:
20 second PLANK
5 OBLIQUES Right
20 second SUPERMAN hold
20 second alternating SPIDERMAN
5 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
20 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right
____________


30 second PLANK
8 OBLIQUES Right
30 second SUPERMAN hold
30 second alternating SPIDERMAN
8 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
30 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right
________________


45 second PLANK
45 OBLIQUES Right and then LEFT!! (so, do 45 seconds each side)
45 second SUPERMAN hold
45 second alternating SPIDERMAN
10 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
45 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Right and then LEFT!! (do 45 secs each side)
_________________________


30 second PLANK
8 OBLIQUES Left
30 second SUPERMAN hold
30 second alternating SPIDERMAN
8 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
30 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Left
____________________________


20 second PLANK
5 OBLIQUES Left
20 second SUPERMAN hold
20 second alternating SPIDERMAN
5 HOLLOW BODY ROCKS
20 second SIDE PLANK (opt abduct) Left


PYRAMIDS OVER ... then next two are extra:


9). Jack Knives or Pikes (10 reps/3 sets)


10). Hollow Body to Superman Rolls (arms overhead)
       - You roll from Hollow Body into a Superman without letting the feet or arms touch the floor. So, from lying on your back to your stomach, right. Back to center. Then, to the left and back to center. (10 reps - each roll, right to center to left is ONE/2 sets)


STRETCH!


*****I did not go into massive explanations on these exercising ... look up their forms if you need to on youtube and do the best you can. Don't rush through it ... do the exercises with friends or great music that'll just keep you going ... and don't let anything hurt you. Keep in good form ... listen to your body and discover where you're at.******


CELEBRATE YOUR END-OF-THE-YEAR!! Let's close this out strong and proud!


 

8 Days and Nights Chanukah Workout

Chanukah passed so I'm publishing this late - HOWEVER - here's the themed workout we did in spirit of the 8 days and nights. You could always use it as a Crazy 8's Workout anytime! We mainly focused on "single" limbs (i.e. one leg or arm represents the day and the other the night - yes, I know I'm a nerd) ... :-)))) This workout's pretty straight forward. 8 reps of everything for two or three rounds. Happy Exercising!


8 STOMACH RUNS
(Start down on your stomach on the floor, run a reasonable length - like 1/2 or 1/4 length of a basketball court - or maybe the whole stretch, it's up to you! Each way, you should drop back down to your stomach)


8 PARTNER PUSHUPS or PUSHUP TAPS
(if you have a partner, then, face each other and do a pushup then tap each other's opposite hands each time you come up ... or, if you don't have a partner, tap a ball or the wall each time up)


8 FORWARD LUNGES or LUNGE JUMPS


8 STAR JUMPS or SQUAT SIDE KICK OUT (ABDUCTION)


8 STRAIGHT ARM SIDE PLANK + BACK FLY (OPT W/WEIGHTS)
(Start at center ... raise one arm straight out and up in a reverse fly w/fingers (or knuckles if you're holding weights) up at the ceiling as you rotate the body into a side plank. Come back to center and repeat on other side. 4 reps total each side)


8 RUSSIAN TWISTS
(Opt w/weight or plate. 4 reps total each side)


8 TORSO RAISES (on stomach) or LAT BAND PULL DOWNS
(on stomach, keeping legs down on ground, hips pushing into floor and gluts tight ... arms starting straight overhead, raise torso/chest off the ground and pull arms into 90 degree angles down ... as in elbows coming towards side of body with palms facing the floor. Squeeze your back and lats and then raise your arms straight again before lowering to the floor. If using a band, pull the band down to chest/collar bone).


8 SINGLE HIP RAISES
(lying on back, bent legs, one leg up to ceiling ... lift hips off the floor. 4 each side. If it's too difficult, do 8 reps with both feet down on ground. If it's too easy, elevate one leg on a chair or step)

12 Days of Christmas Workout

Fun themed workout here I'm doing with some clients and classes this week! It's done in the spirit of the song - (we tried it to the speed of the song but ehhhhhh it's too fast - hahaha - so, just do this all together as a circuit workout to whatever music and stick to doing all sets). For repetition count's sake, there are no "pairs" ... just count each lift or raise as one). The workout, for example, goes:


On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
1 Wall Sit
On the second day of Christmas my true love game to me:
2 Heisman Jumps
and a Wall Sit
On the thirst day of Christmas my true love game to me:
3 Side Shuffle Taps
2 Heisman Jumps
and a Wall Sit


Got it? Enjoy!


1 Partridge in a Pear Tree - 1 WALL SIT
                                            (option w/medicine ball held out chest level, straight arms)


2 Turtle Doves - 2 HEISMAN JUMPS
                           (side leap and tap with one leg crossing behind the other)


3 French Hens - 3 SIDE SHUFFLE TAPS
                           (keep these short - just a few shuffles each way, then tap down in proper squat
                           form to the floor)


4 Calling Birds - 4 PUSH UPS
                           
5 Gold Rings - 5 BURPEES (no pushup)
                         (you can walk or jump these - keep at your level please!)


6 Geese a-Laying - 6 SUPERMAN X's
                                (Supermans with arms and legs starting together off the floor - keep them off
                                but widen them, making your body an X and then bring them back in together for
                                each rep)


7 Swans a-Swimming - 7 SUPERMAN SWIMS
                                      (Scissor your body like it's swimming - opposite arm opposite leg lift then
                                       lower quickly; just count each raise as 1)


8 Maids a-Milking - 8 FOREARM SIDE PLANKS - ALTERNATING
                                  (shift from side to center to side - so you'll do 4 on each side)


9 Ladies Dancing - 9 CRAB KICKS
                                (you can jump these, though, most people don't - I don't care if it's an odd #!)


10 Pipers Piping - 10 RUN AND TAP
                              (run or walk whatever length is reasonable - like half or even a quarter a basketball
                               court's length - and tap the floor each way)


11 Lords a-Leaping - 11 SQUAT JUMPS
                                    (or regular squats, opt w/med ball at chest then overhead on the up)


12 Drummers Drumming - 12 HIGH KNEES
                                            (high or low impact - each time the knee raises is a rep)

Cardio Zone - Facing off with Clients that Slack off!!

You all ... Seriously? This is your trainer speaking -- Stop slacking off on the cardio!

Ok, so ... have you seen this chart? No, unless you have special concerns or heart issues or are JUST beginning to work out - etc, etc - you don't stick to the "lose weight" category while doing cardio.

Let's be real here: Do you really think that any trainer or runner who's trying to keep fit is keeping their heart rate at 130-some beats per minute and below? Toss that crap out the window and let me see you sweat and work hard for a sustained period of time. I think, too often, trainers are afraid to negate charts like these that "give exercisers a pass" for half-*ss workouts because they believe they're in a "fat burning" zone. If you have no physical/cardiac issues and are trying to lose weight or get in shape, please focus your beats per minute between moderate - hard (average is somewhere between 150-160 bpm). Don't bother with maximum unless you know what you're doing; and don't bother with light and very light unless you're going for something light.

I've been training individuals for almost 20 years and clients or new trainers that discuss this infuriating chart with me has been my pet peeve. I don't want my clients to NOT advance their cardio or to NOT lose weight - plain and simple. I'd recently caught another one of my clients sticking to a "fat-burn" 109bpm program on the elyptical when she was supposed to work towards having her heart rate at 140-150bpm for a sustained 30 minutes. (Yes, I check what my clients are doing with their cardio frequently - sometimes I resort to 10 minutes of standing over them if they're on a machine, or dragging them outside to run, pushing on their backs for them to move ... yeah ... until I can trust they'll do that part right on their own). See, I couldn't figure out why she wasn't losing weight if she was doing was she was supposed to be doing without me (the sustained cardio) along with the conditioning she was doing WITH me. Trainer GROWL, right here! She wasn't even breaking a sweat. And then she says to me, the machine says it's "fat burn" and so did a magazine - she conveniently forgot what I'd told her to do. Ohhhhhh no no no no no no no no ...

If ANYYYYYY trainer/book/magazine tells you that you can la-dee-dah on the cardio because you've gotta stay in some zone that allows you to not work hard but magically helps you lose weight, please don't just walk away - walk briskly, jog, run, break a bloody sweat and keep that body moving in the opposite direction until you've actually burned some calories and woken up.

This is what you're going to do: You're NOT going to do a machine "program" (if you're indoors). Put that machine on MANUAL and focus on how long you can keep that heart rate around 150 bpm (give or take 10 bpm tops!). If your heart rate (hr) is at 140 bpm and is really tough for you, then let it lower slightly and stick to somewhere like 130/135 until you can condition yourself to up it. But don't putz. Don't let it fall unless you need the break. Don't do 30 mins of cardio all at 105 bpm - please, PLEASE! Break if you need to, yes, for a couple mins, but don't you dare dream that you're fat burning -- you're BREAKING! That's it.

Now, disclaimer: I have no idea what fitness levels any of you that are reading this are at ... these charts and zones are designed to keep people "safe" ... they're generalities. And we haven't discussed weight training in this article - however, my point is, to step back and really think about what is happening with your body when you're doing cardio and NOT seeing results. My client has started to lose weight. She isn't happy doing the cardio in a higher zone, but it's paying off for her, and it can for you too.

30-45 mins today of cardio at a moderate to hard SUSTAINED intensity. What do you say?