ELIMINATING EXCUSES | fitness

Again, it feels good to be out of the dugout and back in the game! Now to the point: hill running. Hill running is a great exercise for speed & agility training and for endurance. If you want to focus on speed and agility, sprint up hill for about 50 - 75 meters. Rest about 45 - 60 seconds in between sprints and do at least 5 sprints. I recommend a light jog in between sets to help keep your hamstrings and quadriceps from tightening. A good warm-up including stretching will help make sure that your muscles are primed for the workout; and a good cool down will help your muscles transition smoothly to a relaxed state. As you are sprinting, pick your legs up high with each step. We want the tendons in the hip area that allow you to lift your legs to get used to fast, repetitive movements to help improve speed and agility. For those of you focusing on endurance, run up a long hill. If you are going to do repetitions, jog back down hill and then immediately run back up hill. Either route you choose, hill running is guaranteed to make you DO SOMETHIN’!

I am out.

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.

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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.

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’!

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’!!

This week I want to answer some of the fitness and nutrition questions that I have received recently. Please continue to post your questions and comments; and I will get back to you.

Question:
How can I work my glutes?

Answer part 1:
Glute kickbacks are an excellent exercise for toning the glutes and for burning fat and cellulite in that area. All you need is an open area for this exerise. Get on your hands and knees. Starting with your left leg, bring your left knee to your chest. Then kick your leg back and up in the air. You should feel your glutes working to support the weight of your leg as you kickback. As you kickback, make sure that you lift your leg up in the air; go as high as you can without causing discomfort. This lifting will increase the work done by your glute. Foot formation is not critical to the effectiveness of the exercise. With your feet, do what feels natural. The focus for this exercise is kicking back and upwards with your leg. Alternate between your left and right leg.

Pay attention to your breathing. Breathe in as you kickback so that you are taking in air as you expand your chest and abdomen. Exhale as you bring your leg to your chest (your chest and abdomen contract with this motion naturally forcing air out). Always make sure to establish a good breathing rhthym when you are exercising. Your oxgen demands increase when you exercise, so it is important to get sufficient air

Remember to stretch and warm-up before you exercise. Drink plenty of water.

Answer part 2:
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.

Today, I’ve got an excellent leg routine for you. The routine focuses primarily on the quadriceps but you’ll also work your glutes and your hip flexors. The routine will help strengthen and tone your quads. If some of you are struggling with fat and/or cellulite around the hips and/or thighs, this routine well help get rid it. I call it the quivering quads routine because I want you to challenge yourself (in a safe, injury-free way) to the point where it’s difficult to walk normally after this routine and your legs start to quiver a bit when you stand That’s what “DO SOMETHIN!” is all about. Ok, before you get started, make sure you warm-up and stretch properly. I recommend that you try my quadricep stretch as part of your routine. Ready? Make it happen!

*Quivering Quads routine*
seated leg lifts - 3 x 15-25 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before next exercise.
jumping squats - 3 x 15-30 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before next exercise.
lunges - 3 x 15-30 reps/set. 60 seconds rest between each set. 60 seconds rest before next exercise.
wall sits - Hold the sitting the position for as longs as you can. Aim for at least 90 seconds.

DO SOMETHIN’!

Yesterday, we stretched the quads. Today, I want to show you a great quadricp exercise that can follow your stretching: lunges. This exercise is great for tone and definition. You’ll need some weight for this exercise and a bit of room also. Start out standing with your feet together and a weight in each hand. Lunge forward with your left leg. Keep your back straight as you lunge forward. Your left leg should be bent at the knee at about a 90 degree angle. Your right leg is extended but bent at the knee and about 2-4 inches from the ground. Now step back with your left leg bringing yourself back to the starting position for this exercise. Repeat these same steps with your right leg. Keep your back straight throughout the entire exercise and do your best to maintain your balance. No need to rush through these. If you feel any pain or discomfort during the exercise, I recommend that you stop the exercise and address the root cause of your pain.

So, excuses? Huh? What? None! DO SOMETHIN’!

Alright folks, let’s hit the legs. Here is a quadricep exercise that is good for toning and strengthening: jumping squats. Start with your legs about shoulder width apart and squat until your legs form about a 120 degree angle. If squatting this deep doesn’t work for you, squat to a comfortable point. If you feel any pain or discomfort in your back (or anywhere else), I recommend that you don’t do this exercise. Look up as you squat to prevent yourself from falling foward and make sure that your weight is centered over the heels of your feet. I like to keep my hands up as if I had a barbell across my shoulders. As you come up from the squat, jump up. You don’t have to jump your highest but enough to get your feet off the ground. So, use good form and make those quads burn. Got it? DO SOMETHIN’!