300/365 300 Workout in Honor of 300th Post

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Wow! This is the 300th post! Can you believe we've come this far? Just 65 more beloved posts. This is quite possibly as exciting as Oprah's last episode. I jest!

In honor of the 300th post, here is the work out that the guys from the movie 300 used to get ripped and ready:
Pullups - 25 reps

Deadlifts with 135 lbs - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch box jumps - 50 reps
Floor wipers - 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36 lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps

The following video shows the order and a brief demonstration of the 300 work out.

Certainly this is a bit ambitious. Feel free to turn it down a notch. You could cut all the reps in half or modify the exercises to ones you are more comfortable with. The article in Men's Health Magazine that I got this from offer solutions. Have fun!

In health,

Lauren

254/365 Rows on a Ball

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As you may have caught on, I like doing rows of every kind. This one is particularly cool because you're not standing or sitting, you're balancing on a ball!

Here's how to do it:
1. Select a balance ball that is a little bit taller than your knee. You don't want a ball too big or else it'll be more of a lower back exercise than an upper back exercise simply because of the way you'll have to position the ball.
2. Put your dumbbells of choice in front of the ball to keep the ball from rolling.
3. Roll onto the ball so that your tummy is supported and your toes are touching the floor.
4. Grab onto your weights, keep your back engaged, and row! Pretend there's a ball on your spine and you've got to squeeze it with your shoulder blades.

In health,

Lauren

253/365 Hold it Right There

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

This was suggested to me by a friend. In order to pick up the intensity of your weight lifting and really test your anaerobic system (the one for creating a lot of power quickly) is to hold your contractions. For example, if you're doing 12 reps of an overhead press, hold your arms up straight in the air for an additional 10-30s. You could also try holding your arms when they are shoulder level.

I did this in my workout today and really enjoyed that extra burn and challenge. To start out, I would recommend only holding the position on the last set of your exercise so that you don't get too burnt out. Remember to drink that protein after you finish!

In health,

Lauren

111/365 Go Big then Go Small

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

As promised, here is another tip for weight lifting. Start with your big muscles first then work your way to the smaller ones.

Exercise scientists have concluded that strength, power, hypertrophy, and muscle endurance improve best by following this rule. For example, if you are going to work your pushing muscles, begin with some Lat Pull-downs to work your latissimus dorsi. You could follow that with rows using a barbell, dumbbells, or a cable to work your trapezius. You'll notice that while you do this, you will feel your biceps swell with blood and power as you will have naturally used them to perform the previous two exercises. The biceps are secondary muscles that are used during big muscle group exercises. This means that they are secondary when you perform activities of daily living like picking up dirty cloths from the floor or washing the dishes.

Start exercising the big muscles then continue to the smaller ones.

In health,

Lauren

110/365 Total Body or Split Routine

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

There are a couple basic rules for strength and conditioning. Throughout the week I will post the other rules. Your first task is decide how many days/week you can go to the gym to lift weights.

The average person only needs to lift 2-4 days/week. If you are an athlete, you'll probably be working out 4-6 days/week. If you can do 2 or 3, you should probably approach weight lifting with your total body in mind. These exercise days could fall on a Monday and Thursday, a Tuesday and Friday, or MWF. When you do your total body, work your upper body, then lower body, upper, lower, etc. For example:
Total Body
- Lat Pull Downs
- Lunges
- Bench Press
- Leg Press, and so on

If you can do 3-4 days/week, you should do a split routine where you break up your muscle groups into agonists and antagonists. For example, an agonist muscle could be your biceps; your triceps would thus be your antagonists. As I've said, it's necessary to keep the strength of these muscles equal so that you are balanced. A work out like this could be:

 Split Routine Day 1 and 3
-  Lat Pull Downs
- Lunges
- Bicep Curls
- Leg Extensions

Split Routine Day 2 and 4
- Bench Press
- Squats
- Tricep Extension
- Leg Press

In this example, your muscles for pulling are in days 1/3 and your pushing muscles are in days 2/4. If you were to do a 3 days/week routine you could do pull muscles on day 1, push muscles on day 2, and legs on day 3. Don't forget about your shoulders and core!

In health,

Lauren