Archive for fitness
Step Up To Ladder Workouts For Accelerated Fitness Training
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my favorite methods of training are ladder workouts. A “ladder” is an exercise that is done in an ascending then sometimes descending fashion. Rather than doing straight sets, like 2 sets of 10, a ladder enables you to put a lot of volume into a short amount of time. There are a few ways to do a ladder workout. One of my favorites is done with a partner, and is comprised of 3 basic body weight calisthenics: jump squats, pushups, and the sit up.
Here’s how it works…
You and your partner face each other and begin trading reps. You do one, your partner does one. You do one, two, your partner does one, two. You do one, two, three, your partner does one, two, three. And so forth, all the way up to ten. But you aren’t done there. Now that you’ve climbed the ladder, it’s time to come DOWN the ladder, all the way back to one.
Rest for 60 seconds and move on the the next exercise, and repeat until you’ve completed all three exercises. This a a great method to use as a stand alone metabolic conditioning workout, or as a nice workout finisher if your are more advanced. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the exercises. As you run through the workout, you will experience a compound effect from the increasing work density.
Many of my bootcamp clients, know that when it’s “ladder week”, they can expect to be thoroughly worked, and burn a ton of calories. Give it a try, and tell me what you think!
Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, Herald Mail fitness columnist, and co-owner of Home Team Fitness Training. He is also co-host of “Jumpstart” weekdays on FTNS, World’s First Fitness Radio. Find him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hometeamfitness, or visit his website http://www.hometeamfitness.net.
The Golden Goose, Sleep, and Fitness
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The "Golden Goose"? Get your sleep...
In Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he talks about the P/PC Balance, shorthand for Production vs. Production Capability. We all must have balance to succeed in fitness and other areas of our lives. To illustrate his point he tells the fable of the goose that laid golden eggs. In the fable, a farmer has a goose that suddenly begins laying golden eggs–a resource with obvious benefit to the farmer. But like so many of us, the farmer got greedy. One golden egg a day wasn’t good enough. The farmer asked himself: what if I cut open the goose and get all the eggs at once? You know the rest: the farmer killed the goose, AND lost his source of golden eggs for good.
So what does this have to do with sleep?
Simple: you might liken your ability to produce muscle and burn fat to the goose’s ability to lay golden eggs–get greedy, expect too much all at once, or over train–and you won’t be able to produce any more muscle or burn any more fat.
Think of it this way: Muscle building and fat-burning represent production. Taking care of yourself by getting enough sleep (as well as eating right, and keeping a positive attitude) represents production capability. It takes both!
So how much sleep should you get? Well, this is largely an individual thing, but here are some observations:
1) Doctors recommend at least 8 hours per night for the average individual.
2) Athletes at the top of their game often sleep 10 hours per night.
3) Some people claim that they get by on much less just fine–as low as 5 hours per night.
4) Just because you can get by on less sleep doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for you.
5) Finally, sleep is absolutely NECESSARY for muscles to repair from a workout. If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t make much progress.
It’s a simple tip, but getting enough sleep will keep you on the path of progress.
Chad smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, columnist, radio personality, and co-owner of Home Team Fitness Training. Visit http://www.hometeamfitness.net or find him on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hometeamfitness.
Hagerstown Personal Trainer Says Put Up or Shut Up
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"I had all I can stand, and I can't stands no more!"
I’m going to be real careful not to go on a full blown rampage here, but I gotta say a few things that might offend a few people. You know what? Right now I don’t care because I’m pretty fed up with a lot of folks. I’ve spent most of my adult life workoing to get people into their absolute best shape, and I’ve gotten pretty good at it. I’ve worked with a wide breadth of people, from young athletes to senior citizens. I can tell you from this experience that most people who talk about losing weight or looking better are doing just that…talking.
The harsh reality is that the large majority of people who have let themselves get out of shape have gradually gotten there because they have deprioritized their own health and condition. They blame everything and everyone in their life, except who is to really blame…themselves. I hear the pleas for help and then see no action. I direct people to the resources they need, and see no action. I help people for free, and see NO ACTION! Over and over and over and over, people talk and talk and talk about wanting to make it happen this year, and it never happens. Then next year, they are 20 pounds heavier, with even less energy, and even more depressed.
It was reported last year that the average American watches over 37 hours of television per week, yet I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to tell me they “don’t have time” to exercise. We can watch enough tv to make it an unpaid fulltime job, but we can’t take at least 30 minutes a day to save your life??? It’s rediculous! It seems like so many people are caught up on being comfortably entertained while their lifestyle and excuses cost them years of quality life. I get so frustrated with the lip service from lazy, unmotivated people who would rather watch “Biggest Loser” , than use that time to create their own success stories. It’s put up or shut up in 2011.
Susan in her super-swanky, but sedentary lifestyle enabling office...
In 2011, if you aren’t redy to do what it takes to make a mental and physical 180, and become your life’s champion, don’t bother talking to me about your weight problem. Don’t talk to me about how you hate how you feel, don’t talk to me about how much your “granny” arms embarass you. Unless you are ready to tear into it like a pitbull, don’t waste my time and energy. Try to be like my super client, Susan , who invested in a super awesome “tread desk” for her office.
Susan's sweet new tread desk...let the calories burn!
This tread desk will enable her to walk at a manageable pace for the duration of her writing time, which results in a giant boost to her daily activity. She wants it. She put her money where her mouth is. Are you going to keep talking in 2011, or are you going to be a doer? I am only looking for doers from this point forward. If you want someone to say it’s ok to be overweight, it’s ok to wait until you’re “ready”, and it’s okay that you just can’t do it because…, you’re talking to the wrong guy.
I’m the guy who is going to tell you that your condition is entirely the result of a lifetime of poor choices and habits. That’s right, it’s YOUR FAULT. Unless you have a legitimate medical condition that prevents you from exercising, you have no reason not to get your fitness on. Make the time for yourself. If you keep trying to FIND the time, you never will. Take massive action. Today. right now. Otherwise don’t come to me with your tales of woe about how much you reeeeally want to but just don’t have time, money, support, etc,etc. It’s ok to try, and fail, and keep trying. That’s persisence. But when there is little effort, or none at all, you’ve really lost your right to be frustrated.
Here’s a good start. Our 2011 “Destination Transformation” 8 week fitness competition begins January 8, and at stake is a new 16gb Apple iPad, one year of personal training, and a cash prize that increases with each person that joins the competition. If you want to make a REAL effort to make it happen for yourself in 2011, this may be just what you need. There has never been a bigger carrot than what we’re offering with this competitio. It’s put up or shut up time, what will you do? CLICK HERE for more info on this life changing competition!
Chad Smith is a Hagerstown personal trainer, columnist, and co-owner of Home Team Fitness Training. For more information visit http://www.hometeamfitnes.net, or find him on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/hometeamfitness
It’s All Fun And Games Until…
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Not a matter of IF, but WHEN...
It is amazing the risks some people will choose to take even in the face of good advice. I ws training the other day, and I see a friend of mine, who is a pretty strong guy about to do a max effort bench press on the Smith Machine. Now, normally I don’t advise people on their training when I’m a the gym for my own training, but concerned for my friends safty, I offer up some sound advice. He was lifting into the 400′s, and I gave him a brief rundown on the dangers of max effort lifting in the Smith Machine. I told him when doing max effort lifting, mechanics is king, and allowing your joints to follow their natual movement patterns unobstructed is the key to minimizing injury risks, and insuring maximum performance. He responded with “thanks, I like the isolation though”.
Hmmm. Let’s try again.
Then I told him that the bench press isn’t an “isolation” exercise. That it is a compound exercise, using more than one set of joints to move the weight, and that if he keeps training like he is, an injury WILL happen. His training partner got it, and was moving towards the regular banch to switch to a freeweight barbell bench press, but not my man. Nope, even with the advice I was giving him from my experience as a trainer, competitive powerlifter, and bodybuilder, his response was “I’m good”.
Really? And then he asked me to spot him on a set of negative reps with weight he’d never even attempted…oy.
See, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. The first and foremost thing that should be considered in any training program is risk vs payoff. If you aren’t a competitive athlete of some sort, why risk life and limb when there is clearly a better way? That’s like me offering you a clean fuel burning car that gets 50 miles per gallon, and you keep driving your same old Camry because it what you’re used to. Makes no sense. I’m done ranting. Please train smart, before you train hard. And take good advice when you get it. Even if it’s not from me, lol.
Chad Smith is a Hagerstown Personal Trainer, and Co-owner of Home Team Fitness, LLC. For more information on his life changing programs, visit www.hometeamfitness.net.
Hagerstown Personal Trainer Reveals Financial Burden of Obesity
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In my latest column for the Herald Mail newspaper, I shared a report from George Washington University that exposed the annual financial costs of being obese. It was no small amount, and higher for women than men surprisingly. This is just one more reason to adopt the fitness lifestyle no matter what your current physical condition may be. Follow the link below to read this stunning report, and take the steps necessary to change your life, if not for any other reason, do it for the money!
Fitness Expert Chad Smith is co-owner of Home Team Fitness Training, a Hagerstown Personal Training company. For more information, visit www.hometeamfitness.net
