ELIMINATING EXCUSES | fitness

My passion for health and fitness stems from my belief that good health and fitness better equips one for conquering challenges throughout the journey of fulfilling one’s purpose in life. So my objective is to share information that I believe will aid you in your journey. On my blog, you will not find profanity or any material/information that is contrary to my objective.

In addition to having my videos on my blog, my videos also appear on youtube; and there are a few on jumpcut and revver. My facebook and myspace pages also link back to this blog. Unfortunately, there appear to be sites that are showing my videos/content without my permission. If you come across my videos or links to my blog on any site other than my blog or the 4 other sites I mentioned, please know that it is possible that the site may be displaying my content without my permission; and please inform me by posting a comment on my blog with a link to the site. I have come across at least one site that is displaying my video without my persmission, and this site is doing it in a distasteful manner. I apologize if you experience or have experienced any such encounters. Know that I am working on a solution.

Please be mindful of this message that I am sharing with you. Eliminating Excuses is all about DO SOMETHIN’ and only about DO SOMETHIN’ and I want to make that clear.

Thank you.

For those in warm, sunny places, let’s take advantage of that weather today and work our back and biceps with “rim” pull-ups. Find an outdoor basketball court near you. I must warn you that this exercise can be dangerous since it involves being high off the ground. Also, if you are like me, you have to be careful not to hit your head on the basketball rim when jumping. For those that can, jump to the rim and use it for pull-ups. Make sure that the rim can support your weight. If you can’t jump to a 10 ft basket and there is no basket less than 10 ft high near you, find a bar you can use for pull-ups. Do not use your knees to swing your body upward. Focus on using only your biceps and back muscles so that you isolate these muscles forcing them to do all the work.

Not only is this exercise perfect for working your biceps and back muscles (lats and traps), it will also intimidate your opponents causing them to leave the court immediately. Check out the guys in the video that left after seeing me do pull-ups. I believe one of them even had a tear in his eye. My bad.

DO SOMETHIN’!

Let’s start the week with another addition to our arsenal of stretches. Here’s a good one for the lats and delts. This stretch can be done sitting our standing. Stretch your right arm out in front of you and move it across your chest. Place your left hand on your right elbow pressing it toward your chest. Pushing on the elbow stretches the lat and the outer part of the delt. Work both your right and left arm to stretch both right and left lat/outer delt.

Here are some general tips to help you gauge how long to stretch:
1) you should not be in pain.
2) you should feel light to medium tension in the area you are stretching.
3) slow movements are better than fast, jerking movements since slow motion is less likely to lead to an injury.
4) listen to your body. If something does not feel right, discontinue what you are doing.

That’s all I got. DO SOMETHIN’!

This week I will focus on stretching since it’s key for preparing your muscles to DO SOMETHIN’.

Again, another week has come and gone. Before you get too far into your weekend activities, remember to knock out your workout. Here’s an exciting stretch to add to your stretch/warmup routine: trunk twists. Start out seated on the floor with your legs straight ahead of you. Cross your right leg over your left with your right staying bent and the left, straight. Turn your torso to your right and place your left elbow on the right side of your right knee. Push off with your elbow to get more of a twist. You should feel this stretch in the muscles of your lower back, obliques, intercostals, abs and the outer part of your right thigh. Stretch to a comfortable point; don’t exceed your comfortable range of motion. Work both your left and right sides. This exercise can also be done with out crossing your legs. So starting with your right leg, bend it and keep your left straight (no leg crossing). Left elbow goes to the right side of the right knee. You know the rest . . .

Here are some general tips to help you gauge how long to stretch:
1) you should not be in pain.
2) you should feel light to medium tension in the area you are stretching.
3) slow movements are better than fast, jerking movements since slow motion is less likely to lead to an injury.
4) listen to your body. If something does not feel right, discontinue what you are doing.

Enjoy the weekend.

This week I will focus on stretching since it’s key for preparing your muscles to DO SOMETHIN’ (for those not familar with DO SOMETHIN’, feel free to ask about it).

Here is an important stretch for the lower back and hamstrings. You may want to do this one before you run, bike, hike, exercise your legs, swim, dance, etc. Start out seated on the floor and spread your legs as far apart as you can comfortably. Look at your left leg; point your toes upward or curl them back towards you. Reach your arms out towards your left foot and lean your torso down towards your leg. Keep your back straight as you lean. If you arch your back, you risk injuring it. After you feel that you have gotten a good stretch in your lower back and hamstrings, lean down towards the floor in between your legs with your back straight. Reach towards your feet to see if you can grab them. Finally, lean towards your right leg in the same way that you leaned down to your left. Feel free to do these 3 stretches in any order that you like and to do multiple repetitions if you prefer that vs. holding the stretch for a particular amount of time. Your objective is to stretch properly in preparation for your workout. So make sure to do that. Ok, lean with it . . .

This week I will focus on stretching since it’s key for preparing your muscles to DO SOMETHIN’.

Here is a simple stretch for your lats that will help you prepare your muscles for a solid workout. This stretch can be done standing or seated; I am seated. Reach your right arm behind your head so that your right elbow is pointing up in the air. Place your left hand on your right elbow pushing your elbow downward. By pushing your elbow down, the latissimus dorsi on your right side is stretched. Lean to your left to emphasize the stretch. Hold it long enough to feel a good stretch. I recommend holding for at least 10 seconds, taking a short break and stretching the same lat again. Do any many reps of stretching as you need to warm-up; be careful not to overstretch. Remember to work both your right and left lat. For the left, reverse the position of your arms so that your left arm is behind your head and your right hand is pushing down on your left elbow. Lean to the right to emphasize the stretch. Man, that feels good. You know what to do . . .

This week we are going to deviate from our normal exercise routine. I want you to get outside of your house/apartment and explore a new activity for your exercise or do an exercise/activity that you enjoy. Go for a run, go swim, play some basketball, play soccer, go for an indoor rock climb, play tennis, play ultimate frisbee, etc. As you can see, I am working the speed bag. I love the speed bag because it improves punching coordination and handspeed. It also works your shoulders and you back (lats and traps). Boxing is a great sport and I encourage you all to learn to box.

This will be my only posting for the week but please feel free to post any comments or questions that you might have and I’ll get back to you.

Before you get started with your activity, make sure you warm up and drink plenty of fluids throughout your activity. DO SOMETHIN’!

This week my objective is to suggest some exercise routines. Please click on the exercise name to link back to my posting for that exercise. Again, these are my suggestions. Please feel free to modify the routine if needed to better suit your needs.

TGIF! Hope everyone had a good week and that you have an even better weekend. What better way to start the weekend than by exercising! Today, we are going to do a back, chest and trap workout that will tone and strengthen these areas. Bring your A game! As always, stretch and warm-up before you get started. If you need an example of a back stretch, check out my posting.

*Back, Chest & Traps routine*

back extensions - 3 x 15 - 25 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
knucke push-ups - 3 x 15 - 40 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
bent over rows - 3 x 15 - 40 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
pectoral flies - 3 x 15 - 25 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
trap flies - 3 x 15 - 25 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
triangle close grip push-ups - 3 x 15 - 40 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before the next exercise.
shrugs - 3 x 15 - 40 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set.

DO SOMETHIN’!

Time to hit the back! I expect that some of you want to get ready for the beach or maybe a wedding (backless dress for the females). So you want to hit some back exercises, so you can walk with confidence. Bent over rows are excellent for working the latissimus dorsi, also known as the lats. This exercise is good for developing tone, definition and strength. Before you work your back, make sure you’ve done your stretching and that you are ready to exercise (need some help with back stretches? I’ve posted one for the lower back. I’ll be posting more soon.). Have your weights ready for this exercise. Pick your weights up. Stand with your feet almost shoulder width apart. Bend you knees and lean forward so that your torso forms about a 30 to 45 degree angle relative to the floor. Your weights should be in your hands and infront of your legs. Pull the weight straight up until you naturally stop. Get a good squeeze at the top. Repeat this motion. You know the rest. DO SOMETHIN’!

Alright folks, we are hitting the lower back today. Remember to stretch prior to exercising. If you need help with a lower back stretch, please see my posting for March 29, 2007. Let’s do some back extensions today. This exercise is great for strengthening the lower back. Lay on the floor with your stomach facing downward. Flex the muscles of your lower back bringing your arms and legs off the floor at the same time (it’s almost as if you were doing the reverse of an ab crunch). Take your time with these. I like to pause a bit after flexing the muscles of my lower back to add more emphasis to the exercise. See if that works for you. This exercise is simple; yet effective. DO SOMETHIN’!