Matt
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Workout of the day - Wednesday 11th August, 2010
Some weak point training today!
Today, we will simply be alternating between 3 position hold Pushups, and Bulgarian Split Squat Holds.
I will warn you - this will hurt, but it will show us some areas needed for imrovement.
What you'll need: a sturdy chair and some space.
Warmup: Keeping with our KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle, warm up with basic sets of Pushups and Bulgarian Split Squats, performing only half of the number of each that you can usually do, and alternating between the 2 for at least 3 sets.
Workout: You'll probably only manage maybe 3-5 circuits of this workout today, and that's fine. More, and your a stud; less, you have some work to do.
We will just alternate between the exercises, resting about 45-60 seconds in between, until you can go no more.
For our first move, it is the basic Pushup with a twist - you will hold 3 positions throughout the Pushup for 2 seconds. Why? Holding the positions will show us where in the movement we are strongest/weakest, and helps us identify that area of the movement we need to work on. The 3 positions held in the Pushup will be mid way between the start and bottom of the Pushup; at the bottom of the Pushup; and a little higher up then our first hold, between the mid-point and the end of the movement. Of course you can do thsi move on your knees if you are not strong enough!
Take a look:
Aim for at least 5, up to 10-15, of these per set. If you can do 15, girls can try the move as per normal (on toes and not on knees) and guys can elevate their feet onto the chair and try that.....
Our second move, we've done before, but all you'll do is get into the bottom, fully stretched position of the Bulgarian Split Squat, and simply hold it for as long as you can!
What this will show us is the difference in time held between legs (you may be able to hold this position with your right foot in front longer than you can with your left foot in front) indicating muscular endurance deficiences, and possible hip flexor flexibility/mobility weak points. It can also indicate poor uni-lateral leg strength and power.
After alternating between those 2 movements, finish with stretching for your glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, shoulders and triceps (I've outlined these stretches before in previous posts).
And that's it for today. Bit of weak point therapy for you.
Yours in training,
Matt
Today, we will simply be alternating between 3 position hold Pushups, and Bulgarian Split Squat Holds.
I will warn you - this will hurt, but it will show us some areas needed for imrovement.
Warmup: Keeping with our KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle, warm up with basic sets of Pushups and Bulgarian Split Squats, performing only half of the number of each that you can usually do, and alternating between the 2 for at least 3 sets.
Keep things slow and controlled to concentrate on getting warm
We will just alternate between the exercises, resting about 45-60 seconds in between, until you can go no more.
For our first move, it is the basic Pushup with a twist - you will hold 3 positions throughout the Pushup for 2 seconds. Why? Holding the positions will show us where in the movement we are strongest/weakest, and helps us identify that area of the movement we need to work on. The 3 positions held in the Pushup will be mid way between the start and bottom of the Pushup; at the bottom of the Pushup; and a little higher up then our first hold, between the mid-point and the end of the movement. Of course you can do thsi move on your knees if you are not strong enough!
Take a look:
Hold each one of those middle 3 positions (guys) and the 3 positions shown on knees (girls)
Our second move, we've done before, but all you'll do is get into the bottom, fully stretched position of the Bulgarian Split Squat, and simply hold it for as long as you can!
Now hold.....
I would say she also does plenty of single leg squats.....
After alternating between those 2 movements, finish with stretching for your glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, shoulders and triceps (I've outlined these stretches before in previous posts).
And that's it for today. Bit of weak point therapy for you.
Yours in training,
Matt
Daily FIT One!
Today, we have the very popular WWE star John Cena. At 6'1" and 240lbs (109kg), the guy is huge:
You can't see me??
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Daily FIT one!
Well, for some motivation (and other reasons....), I've decided to post a daily FIT babe or guy (mainly babes, but I will look after my female readers, promise), for helping you go for an extra set or rep on your daily workout. Look at them and be inspired to want to shape a body like that!
I would just like to give a shout out to the great one for helping me find these awesome FIT individuals - Google, I and many others, love you.
Enjoy:
Yours in training,
Matt
I would just like to give a shout out to the great one for helping me find these awesome FIT individuals - Google, I and many others, love you.
Enjoy:
Matt
Workout of the day - Tuesday 10th August, 2010
Easy one today. After resting on Monday, and possibly one of the days over the weekend if you chose the 2 x per day option, we are going back to our very first workout of the day in my blog, and going for a personal best.
See here for details: http://mattsthoughtsonfitness.blogspot.com/2010/08/workout-of-day-thursday-4th-august-2010.html
After warming up, I want you to beat whatever total you managed on Thursday in the Squat Jumps.
If you managed 8 sets of 6 jumps, go for 10 sets of 6 jumps. If you did 10 sets of 10 jumps, gor for 12-15 sets. Just really smash it today as you won't be doing Squat Jumps again for a fortnight or so.
Remember, keep your rest periods short (about 30 seconds). If you haven't broke out into at least a light sweat by the time you have finished, it means you have rested too long between sets.
Hit it hard.
Yours in training,
Matt
See here for details: http://mattsthoughtsonfitness.blogspot.com/2010/08/workout-of-day-thursday-4th-august-2010.html
After warming up, I want you to beat whatever total you managed on Thursday in the Squat Jumps.
If you managed 8 sets of 6 jumps, go for 10 sets of 6 jumps. If you did 10 sets of 10 jumps, gor for 12-15 sets. Just really smash it today as you won't be doing Squat Jumps again for a fortnight or so.
Remember, keep your rest periods short (about 30 seconds). If you haven't broke out into at least a light sweat by the time you have finished, it means you have rested too long between sets.
This is impressive for a Squat Jump!
Hit it hard.
Yours in training,
Matt
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Double Whammy!! 2 x Workout of the day - Saturday 7th August and Sunday 8th August 2010
With the weekend upon us, I thought I'd include both daily workouts in the one post, in case I wasn't able to post over the weekend. Monday 9th August will be a rest day, so no workout of the day will be given.
I'm also offering 2 x options with the workouts - you can do them as per usual, one workout per day, or you can do both workouts on the one day, performing the first workout in the morning (say 10am) and the second workout in the late afternoon (say 4pm). Notice I've left about 6 hours in between workouts - this is very important for optimal training considerations as your body will not recover enough to perform to it's maximum abilities in the second workout. More than 6 hours in between workouts is best, but 6 is the mininum.
If you do decide to do both workouts on Saturday (or Sunday, up to you), then Saturday/Sunday becomes an extra rest day.
Now for the workouts!
Our first workout is dedicated to our rear ends - the ass!
Now fella's, before you jump to assumptions that this workout is for the ladies only, it is far from the truth! Strong, powerful glutes, quads and hamstrings will help you power through in any sporting endeavour, enabling you to run faster, jump higher, move more weight around in squatting/deadlifting based movements, and give you extra thrusting power for the between-the-sheets dance. That sounds alright doe's it not?
4 exercises will headline our first workout - the Bulgarian Split Squat, Single Leg Hip Thrust, Step-up, and Quadruped Hip Extension.
Our second workout will be some good old jump rope! Jumping rope is a fantastic bone density builder, as 10 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to 30 minutes of jogging, it creates a tremendous fat burning effect, and will help enhance athletic abilities through quicker feet, muscular endurance, and possible improvements in speed and jumping ability.
Let's get to work....
Workout 1 (Saturday, or Saturday/Sunday morning):
What you'll need - a sturdy chair and some space, preferably on carpet since we need to get on the floor a bit.
Warmup: I like keeping my warmups simple and SPECIFIC. What I mean by this, is warming up in a way that mimics our workout. On Thursday, I got you to do Squats before Squat Jumps, yesterday was Pushups before, well, Pushups. Today, we'll be doing Box Squats (in this case, Chair Squats).
Aim to do 10-20 repetitions of the following, for at least 3 sets until you feel pretty warm:
You actually want to get your backside on the chair, then stand up, but the trick is, to sit down without shifting your entire bodyweight into the chair. A simple way to help you do this warmup exercise is to think about sitting 'lightly', then standing up, as if you were just barely touching the chair and standing up. Touch and go is the key here.
Workout: As I mentioned, 4 exercises today. I'll start with a photo description for each before I outline the workout:
We will be performing these 4 movements as a circuit, resting as little as needed in between each exercise, until you finish the Quadruped Hip Extensions, then you may rest for 2-3 minutes.
It is entirely up to you as to how many repetitions you do for each leg on each exercise. I'd like to see you all doing 10-20 repetitions each leg, each exercise as a goal, but obviously you will not be able to do this for some time if you've never tried these moves before.
Try to hold the peak squeeze in each movement for a second or so, really focusing on smashing your glutes, and perform all movements at a controllable speed, focusing more on technique and the quality of your repetitions rather than how many you can do.
Aim to do at least 3 circuits of this today, and a goal would be twice this much, being 6 circuits. Anywhere in between 3-6 circuits is a terrific effort! If you can manage 20 reps of each exercise, and 6 total circuits with 30 seconds rest in between circuits, then I bet people notice what your packing back there as it would certainly show.
After your last circuit, repeat the quad, hamstring and glute stretches I outlined in Wednesday's workout: http://mattsthoughtsonfitness.blogspot.com/2010/08/workout-of-day-thursday-4th-august-2010.html
Workout 2 (Sunday, or Saturday/Sunday afternoon).
What you'll need - a jump rope, and some space like soft grass, concrete as a last resort (the harder the surface, the more impact on your joints, which isn't a good thing)
Warmup: Again keeping with our SPECIFIC based warmups, simply jump rope at an easy, very casual effort for 2-3 minutes, sticking with basic two leg jumps. 1 jump per rope revolution too, so no little double jumps in between the rope turns.
Workout: A fantastic fat burning, athletic enhancing tool that we will be using here is the Tabata protcol. This means, alternating between 20 seconds of work, and 10 seconds of rest, for 4 total minutes. If you have a fancy stop watch, then use it here, but for the rest of us, simply perform 20-40 jumps (you should be able to build to doing a rate of 2 jumps per second, hence the 40 reps being equivalent to the 20 seconds) as fast as you are capable of, then rest for a count of 10, and repeat 8 times, which takes us to our 4 minutes. At this stage, you'll rest for 2-3 minutes, then go again!
2 times through is the goal, but if you can do another tabata, and another, then certainly go for it! 4 times through will give you the daily awesomeness tag.
If your feeling frisky, or your advanced, you can try this - for the first tabata, perform them jumping only on your left leg, then the second tabata, try them only on your right leg....
Cool-down by stretching the calves HARD. Yes, if you haven't jumped rope in quit some time, your calves are going to hurt for the coming day or so, so take the time to stretch them out now.
And that's it! Remember, Monday is a rest day, so no workout will be given.
2 great workouts to help you in many ways, whether it be athletic performance, dropping some body fat, muscular endurance, or just wanting to have some perkier assets.....
.......we get the job done.
Enjoy.
Yours in training,
Matt
I'm also offering 2 x options with the workouts - you can do them as per usual, one workout per day, or you can do both workouts on the one day, performing the first workout in the morning (say 10am) and the second workout in the late afternoon (say 4pm). Notice I've left about 6 hours in between workouts - this is very important for optimal training considerations as your body will not recover enough to perform to it's maximum abilities in the second workout. More than 6 hours in between workouts is best, but 6 is the mininum.
If you do decide to do both workouts on Saturday (or Sunday, up to you), then Saturday/Sunday becomes an extra rest day.
Now for the workouts!
Our first workout is dedicated to our rear ends - the ass!
Major distraction - please keep reading...
Now fella's, before you jump to assumptions that this workout is for the ladies only, it is far from the truth! Strong, powerful glutes, quads and hamstrings will help you power through in any sporting endeavour, enabling you to run faster, jump higher, move more weight around in squatting/deadlifting based movements, and give you extra thrusting power for the between-the-sheets dance. That sounds alright doe's it not?
4 exercises will headline our first workout - the Bulgarian Split Squat, Single Leg Hip Thrust, Step-up, and Quadruped Hip Extension.
Extremely powerful 'assets'
Our second workout will be some good old jump rope! Jumping rope is a fantastic bone density builder, as 10 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to 30 minutes of jogging, it creates a tremendous fat burning effect, and will help enhance athletic abilities through quicker feet, muscular endurance, and possible improvements in speed and jumping ability.
I have grave concerns for our friend in the back....
Let's get to work....
Workout 1 (Saturday, or Saturday/Sunday morning):
What you'll need - a sturdy chair and some space, preferably on carpet since we need to get on the floor a bit.
Warmup: I like keeping my warmups simple and SPECIFIC. What I mean by this, is warming up in a way that mimics our workout. On Thursday, I got you to do Squats before Squat Jumps, yesterday was Pushups before, well, Pushups. Today, we'll be doing Box Squats (in this case, Chair Squats).
Aim to do 10-20 repetitions of the following, for at least 3 sets until you feel pretty warm:
Workout: As I mentioned, 4 exercises today. I'll start with a photo description for each before I outline the workout:
Bulgarian Split Squat (put your foot on the chair)
Single Leg Hip Thrust (elevate your foot on the chair)
Step-up (simple stuff - step up, then down, using ONLY the leg on the chair)
Quadruped Hip Extension (Focus on the squeeze, and keep your back flat)
It is entirely up to you as to how many repetitions you do for each leg on each exercise. I'd like to see you all doing 10-20 repetitions each leg, each exercise as a goal, but obviously you will not be able to do this for some time if you've never tried these moves before.
Try to hold the peak squeeze in each movement for a second or so, really focusing on smashing your glutes, and perform all movements at a controllable speed, focusing more on technique and the quality of your repetitions rather than how many you can do.
Aim to do at least 3 circuits of this today, and a goal would be twice this much, being 6 circuits. Anywhere in between 3-6 circuits is a terrific effort! If you can manage 20 reps of each exercise, and 6 total circuits with 30 seconds rest in between circuits, then I bet people notice what your packing back there as it would certainly show.
Jamie can probably do 6 x 20, easy....
....and gets noticed too.
Workout 2 (Sunday, or Saturday/Sunday afternoon).
What you'll need - a jump rope, and some space like soft grass, concrete as a last resort (the harder the surface, the more impact on your joints, which isn't a good thing)
Warmup: Again keeping with our SPECIFIC based warmups, simply jump rope at an easy, very casual effort for 2-3 minutes, sticking with basic two leg jumps. 1 jump per rope revolution too, so no little double jumps in between the rope turns.
Workout: A fantastic fat burning, athletic enhancing tool that we will be using here is the Tabata protcol. This means, alternating between 20 seconds of work, and 10 seconds of rest, for 4 total minutes. If you have a fancy stop watch, then use it here, but for the rest of us, simply perform 20-40 jumps (you should be able to build to doing a rate of 2 jumps per second, hence the 40 reps being equivalent to the 20 seconds) as fast as you are capable of, then rest for a count of 10, and repeat 8 times, which takes us to our 4 minutes. At this stage, you'll rest for 2-3 minutes, then go again!
Tricky son of a gun
If your feeling frisky, or your advanced, you can try this - for the first tabata, perform them jumping only on your left leg, then the second tabata, try them only on your right leg....
Cool-down by stretching the calves HARD. Yes, if you haven't jumped rope in quit some time, your calves are going to hurt for the coming day or so, so take the time to stretch them out now.
2 great workouts to help you in many ways, whether it be athletic performance, dropping some body fat, muscular endurance, or just wanting to have some perkier assets.....
Enjoy.
Yours in training,
Matt
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A great friend and a great read!
A terrific blog from a good friend of mine is now up!
I know this blog will be entertaining, and much enjoyed by all.
Check it out at: http://everythingandyb.blogspot.com/
Yours in training,
Matt
I know this blog will be entertaining, and much enjoyed by all.
Check it out at: http://everythingandyb.blogspot.com/
Yours in training,
Matt
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