I won’t so far to say this is a ” core stability” exercise.  That would be kind of silly on my part.  But, it did serve as a nice 5 minute fun break in the action for the group.  Can’t always be serious, got to have a little fun from time to time.

It’s super saturday here in New England and we took it upon ourselves to do a football/super bowl inspired workout today.  In this video you’ll see hurdle hops that players would do to enhance the jumping ability, explosive power.  You will also see a barbell exercise in the background called the push press.  This exercise is designed to enhance the ability to apply more force to the ground, in turn being able to run faster and jump higher.  In the middle of the picture you see people flipping water bags.  This is a great metabolic conditioning drill.

GO PATRIOTS!

Here is a great exercise that can be done at home, we use it in our CORE Boot Camp program as a fat burning finisher at the end of the workouts.  There are many different protocols this can be used with.  I explain it in the video but below are a few different ways you can utilize this mode of exercise.

Tabata protocol = 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest repeat for 8 sets.

It can be used in a circuit with other conditioning exercises like squat thrusts or thrusters to provide a through the roof metabolic boost.

** Important cue**

Tighten your core as if you were going to get punched in the stomach prior to performing the exercise.  This will add a core stabilizing effect to the exercise and protect your back at the same time.

The past few posts we’ve highlighted a very effective exercise to train inner unit, or torso, stability.  The ability of your torso mouscles to stabilize the surrounding joints (low back).  This nect progression is training the ability to stabilize the torso while moving.  In athletics, group classes, and in life we are rarely standing still and stabilizing our torsos.  We are usually moving.  So, being able to stabilize your torso while moving is essential for whatever you are training for.

Let’s face it when we think about being healthier, we think about being leaner.  Here are the 5 best things you can do, and do pretty easily to lose weight and become healthier in 2012.

1.  THINK BIG PICTURE - Understanding from the start that it takes a time commitment and it will not happen over night is the best move you can make in adapting a healthier lifestyle in 2012.  Don’t join and 2,3 week or 90 day programs.  Be in it for the long haul.  You have to think beyond how many reps, sets, minutes, calories etc.  Once you start keeping track of too many different things is when exercise starts to take over your life, rather than transform it.   Don’t obsess over too many minor details.  Strength train to boost metabolism, anaerobic conditioning to mobilize body fat into bloodstream for utilization, subtract bad calories and add good.

2.  FIND OUT WHAT FOODS YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO -  I can’t tell you how much of a difference it made for me to know what foods I had in-tolerances to, what foods I am sensitive to and what foods are ideal for me.  I found out by meeting with Julie Freeman on Linden Street in Wellesley, Ma.  She is a licensed dietitian and opened my eyes to the information I’d been searching for for years.  I immediately saw changes in my body when applying her suggestions.  My meal plan is restrictive, but it is well worth it with the difference in how I look and feel.

3. STAY POSITIVE -  If you are able to make the previous adjustments then staying positive will be easy, because you will be seeing the results you want to see.  Life is too short not to take care of yourself and live a healthy, happy life.

Just try these things for 4 weeks and tell me how you look and feel, you won’t be disappointed.

Hello exercisers here is one way to make the band push away exercise that was highlighted in a previous blog more challenging.  Sit your butt down on a physioball.  This will take the assistance from the legs and hips out of the equation and put the responsibility of not being pulled over squarely on your midsection.  This creates a different focus of the exercise.

Classes are in Newton Ctr, Newton Lower Falls and newly opened program in Westwood, Ma.

Here is the next progression up from the seated band push away I posted last week.  This version will allow you to stand further away providing more resistance to the exercise and more of a stabilization effect on your core.  he standing position will also include more assistance from the lower body, glute and hip muscles.  Progressive resistance is key in achieving fitness/body transformation goals.  This concept is one of the cornerstones in the design philosophy of the CORE Boot Camp program.

Starting Thanksgiving and running straight through the new year can be a very difficult period of time for people.  Adhering to healthy meal planning and exercise are tougher.  My belief is that the end of the year is viewed by many as an opportunity for people to stop doing what they normally do.  They see January 1st on the horizon and tell themselves they will get back to normal behavior after the 1st of the year.  Here are some holiday nutrition tips to keep you falling too far from the normal, everyday meal planning you are used to.  Research by the New England Journal of Medicine shows that half of the weight people gain over a 12 month period ( 5 of 10 lbs) occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

1.   Snack on foods like apples and peanut and butter and mixed nuts throughout the day leading up to office or family holiday parties to control your food cravings when you get to the event.

2.  Make your meals extra healthy on the days that you are planning on attending a holiday party where there will be those holiday treats we love so much.  This shouldn’t be viewed as an opportunity to go nuts, but more of a counterbalance to the unhealthy calories you will probably be ingesting.

3.  Research suggests that having a strong visual image can heighten food cravings.  Try not to hang around the table full of treats, get a small plate and position yourself further away so you cannot see the holiday pies, sugar cookies and other holiday favorites.

4.  Do your best to manage holiday stress.  A common and destructive stress management technique is eating.  Listen to soothing music when you feel stressed or exercise to reduce it.  Do anything but eat!

5.  At 7 calories per gram, alcohol provides almost as many calories as fat.  Add soda, milk or juice to it and your favorite holiday cocktail will contain almost as many calories as one meal.  Plus, alcohol lowers your blood sugar; leading to you loading your plate with sugary cookies and treats.  Alternate cocktails with water to cut alcohol consumption in half at least.

In our CORE Boot Camp we break down torso development into 6 categories.

Inner unit stability

Flexion

Lateral flexion

Posterior chain

Hip

Rotation

In our 3 day per week program we train 2 of these units each workout.

Here is an example of the first phase of an inner unit stability exercise we use.

So much time is spent on exercise, nutrition, recovery, fitness trends and any other fitness related topic out there.  So little time is spent on discussing lifestyle and the power of positive thinking.  I recently was asked to read “ The Energy Bus” written by Jon Gordon.  Man was I pumped up after turning the ast page of that book.  It is simple and easy to read and it describes the lives of so many Americans.  It starts out with a guy named George who has the bad luck of getting a flat tire on the way to work.  This brings George’s perpetual down mood even further.  From there it snowballs and George is left feeling like a miserable human being.  Everyhting in his life is effected by his very negative perception of things.  Relationships, job you name it.  He then runs into a bus driver who changes his whole life around.  I don’t want to give out all the informtion because it is a great read.  This is an inspiring and uplifting book that I highly recommend.  We as people have the tendancy to focus on the negatives in life without seeing the obvious positives that make our lives so enjoyable.  This would make a great holiday gift for someone in your circle who fits the ” Geroge” profile. 

Postive outlook is so important in life and is more powerful than we can ever measure.  You will not lose weight if you think you can’t, you will not change your body if you think you can’t, you will not eat healthy if you think you can’t, you will not achieve anything if you think you can’t.

Be the driver of the energy bus starting today!!!