ELIMINATING EXCUSES | fitness

Game time!! This week I have a great exericse menu courtesy of Maja Varner. She is a talented engineer that has passion for fitness and health; she’s also a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader. I want to thank Maja for her time in filming this video.

Today let’s work the legs with walking lunges. This exercise focuses primarily on the quads, but it is also good for the glutes and hamstrings. Head to the local park or open area near you. For those looking to increase the intensity of this exercise, take dumbells with you (or look for some big rocks at the park). We’ve hit lunges before, but this time we are going to walk with it. So start standing with or without weight in each hand and with your feet together. Lunge forward with your left leg. Your left leg should be bent forming a right angle and your right knee should be slightly off the ground. Now, straighten your left leg thus bringing your right leg forward; then lunge forward with your right leg and your left knee will be slightly above the ground. Keep alternating left and right. For the leg lunging forward, make sure that your knee does not go beyond the tip of the corresponding foot. Aim to have them lined up so that if you were lunging toward a wall, both the tip of your foot and your knee would touch the wall in the same vertical line. Keep your back straight throughout the entire exercise and focus on maintaining good balance.

DO SOMETHIN’!

You know what time it is!! Let’s get it! This week I have a great exericse menu courtesy of Maja Varner. She is a talented engineer that has passion for fitness and health; she’s also a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader. I want to thank Maja for her time in filming this video.

Today, we are going to hit the abs and obliques with an exercise called crossed legs crunches. Lay on the floor on your back with your legs straight in front of you. Bend your right leg and cross it over your left. Your right knee should be a few inches off the ground. Now, bend your left leg so that it’s below and slightly behind your right. Try to keep your torso straight so that your shoulders are on the floor. It’s ok for your right shoulder to come up a bit (when working your right side); but you should not be lying on your side. Maja’s form is perfect so follow her. Now that your body is in position, place your hands at the side of your head with only your fingertips touching your head. Now crunch as far as you can comfortably while still feeling your abs and obliques working. Work both your right and left.

DO SOMETHIN’!

At least once every post, I say DO SOMETHIN’! Some of you might be wondering what it means (and if I have a low brain cell count). Let me explain the origin and meaning of this phrase.

Origin:
Years ago, I was on a weekend trip to Chicago to visit some of my good friends. We went out to a club. In Chicago, it is not unusual to see an attractive young lady while out for the evening. So I saw one at the club; and my boys looked at me and they said, “DO SOMETHIN’!” Simple phrase. A bit vague but I knew exactly what they meant (go meet the young lady, etc.). For some reason, hearing them say that got me extremely hyped. I’d compare it to the increase in energy level that the Incredible Hulk must feel as he turns from normal man to green beast.

Meaning:
DO SOMETHIN’ is an invigorating expression intended to get you excited for the challenge ahead. Its applications expand beyond the realm of fitness as you can see by its origin. You can even say it to yourself and it will still get you excited and encouraged.

Now you know!

. . . you know what to say.

Feeling energetic today? If not, can you buy some energy? How about an energy drink? Actually no, you don’t need to buy an energy drink. Let me explain.

I asked a question in regards to how you “feel.” So, the answer will be based on subjective mental and physical feelings as it should be. However, just because you feel this way does not mean that your muscles don’t have the potential (or capacity) to do work. Your muscles use ATP (adenonine triphosphate) for fuel; ATP is derived from the foods that you eat. For this reason, it is critical to eat the right kinds and quantity of foods to provide your body with sufficient carbohydrates, protein and good fats. In addition, your body needs water, vitamins and minerals. Even though vitamins and minerals don’t provide calories, they are essential to many key bodily functions like energy production. So if you are eating right, you already have the energy needed to DO SOMETHIN’! If you don’t feel energetic, maybe you had a stressful day or you need to get more sleep.

Don’t be fooled by energy drinks. Many provide nothing more than caffeine which is addictive and can be harmful to your health. If you are looking to quench your thirst before/after/during a workout, water is an excellent choice. You can also consider sports drinks with no caffeine, no (or low) sodium and a concentration of 5 – 10% of carbohydrates.

Now you have the facts. DO SOMETHIN’!

**information source: ACE Personal Trainer Manual 3rd edition, edited by Cedric X. Bryant, Ph. D and Daniel J. Green

For those of you looking to be more explosive during your initial steps of a sprint, I have a tight exercise for you: power cleans. You’ll need a barbell and some plates for this one. Find a comfortable weight that you can handle for about 10 – 15 reps. Stand at the midpoint of the barbell and spread your feet a few inches more than shoulder width apart (should be a comfortable stance). Bend down by sticking your butt out and keep your back straight. If you have back or knee pain or a history of back or knee injuries, you might not want to do this exercise; use your discretion. If you decide to this exercise, wear the proper equipment for support where you need it. In this bent position, your knees should not go beyond the tips of your toes and your but should not go below your knees. These two points are critical for making sure that you don’t over stress your knees. Grip the barbell infront of your legs or slightly outside of the width of your legs. Now we are ready to clean!

Come up by straightening out your legs, as you do so, the weight will naturally come up with you. Once the weight passes your knees, begin to pull it upwards with your arms and rotate your arms around the barbell so that your elbows are pointing downward. As you rotate your arms around the barbell, squat down a bit so that you are under the weight. Once you have completed the rotating and the semi-squat, stand up with the weight keeping your knees slightly bent. Whew, that’s 1 rep! This was one of my favorite exercises for improving speed and explosiveness when I played football. The technique might take some time to grasp. Be patient. Don’t use too much weight beacuse you’ll sacrifice form and risk injuring yourself.

So things to remember:
1) keep your upper back straight and sligthly arch your lower back to stick you butt. If you feel any discomfort in your back while doing this exercise, stop immediately.
2) look forward and slightly upward to help you maintain good form
3) your feet should not come off the ground during the exercise
4) listen to your body: if something doesn’t feel right, stop!

I recommend that you stretch and then do a warm-up set with 6 – 8 reps. Then, hit 4 sets of 10 – 15 reps with 60 seconds rest in between each set.

DO SOMETHIN’!!

So, I’ve gotten some comments from folks suggesting that I “spice up” the videos a bit. One suggestion has been adding a banner with www.elimingatingexcues.com in the background (thanks Nick!). Someone suggested that I dance in the videos (I’ll keep this individual anonymous); uhhh, can’t do that one. Please answer the following questions:

What is missing from the videos?
What do you want to see more of?
What don’t you want to see?
What can I do to better meet your needs?

I’ll will take all comments into consideration and select some to try out. I want to hear from you, so please drop me a line. Thanks!

DO SOMETHIN’!

So I have a confession . . . I wear ankle weights to work. So you might be asking why? I like the challenge of walking with the extra weight especially going up stairs.

Some find this odd. I’m sure that I’ve even been called names for this habit of mine. Fanatical? Obsessed? Weird? Call it what you want. I see it differently. I am committed to DO SOMETHIN’! In life, I will not let others’ beliefs and opinions interfere with my passions and what I believe adds value to my life. I hope that you feel the same way. I encourage you to keep your eyes on the prize. Some people will make comments. Some will be jealous. Some might even try to stop your flow. Rise above. Stay true to yourself and conquer your goals. We don’t live life to please others.

Enjoy the day.

(Note: No hard feelings to those of you who laughed at me when you saw the ankle weights.)

Let’s get ready for the weekend with a superb stretch for the ankles. Now, we are not truly stretching the ankle; but by rotating the foot at the ankle, we are stretching various muscles and tendons in the leg and foot. In addition to the clockwise and counterclockwise rotations, also move your foot to the left and right (also called eversion and inversion at the subtalar joint); and flex and extend your toes. Work both your left and right foot. After this stretch and some other stretching, you’ll be ready to get loose on the dance floor tonight.

DO SOMETHIN’!

In response to a request for more oblique exercises, I have another winner for you today: standing trunk twists. This exercise works the obliques and the intercostals and is great for toning, definition and attacking love handles. As always, simplicity and effectiveness are desirable when it comes to exercises and this one meets these criteria. Do this exercise standing; keep your feet about shoulder width apart and slightly bend your knees. Bend your arms in front of your chest. Rotate to your left using the muscles in your torso to move your body; you’ll feel this exericse in parts of your back too. Rotate to the left as far as you can comfortably and then do the same to the right. Establish a smooth rhthym rotating from one side to the other. To force the obliques and intercostals to work a bit harder, pause in between your rotations. By doing so, you don’t allow momentum to help move your torso. Now, the muscles in your torso are fully responsible for rotating you to the left and right. Try both techniques and choose the one that suits you needs.

you + eliminatingexcuses.com = DO SOMETHIN’!

Happy 4th of July to those in the USA! Enjoy the day and be safe.

For those of you training, DO SOMETHIN’!