Using Yoga as an intense form of cross-training can be extremely beneficial to a number of sporting activities. Not only does it strengthen, tone, and elongate our muscles, it teaches us to be present in the moment while placing our focus on our breathing.
Learn how our expert guest blogger incorporated this technique into her training and how it improved her performance.
Looking back across the evolution of the human race, many of the instinctual movements we performed on a daily basis when hunting, gathering, or even farming have become obsolete in today’s world of desks and computer screens. But, just because the world around us has changed, doesn’t mean that our need for movement or exercise has lessened. Learn from our expert guest blogger how getting back to our instincts is the best type of intense training to stay in shape!
Kettle Bell Swings for Superior Leg Strength
Kettlebells are the ideal tool for training total body fitness and functional strength. Training the body as a unit, instead of isolated muscle groups will develop explosive hip drive and improve lower body strength.
Starting out
Start your training with the kettlebell swing. Keep in mind the legs and hips, not the arms or upper body are used to propel the kettlebell through the swing. Power is created by driving through the heels, using the large muscles of the lower body including the quads, glutes, hamstrings and core.
Kettlebell Swings
Begin in a standing position with feet shoulder width apart, chest up, shoulders back and down, core flexed, back arched (not rounded) with a slight knee bend, and weight distributed to the heels of your feet.
- Grip the kettlebell with both hands over top of the handle.
- Sink into a squat with the weight between the legs. Keep the torso upright, the abs braced and the arms loose. At the bottom of the movement shift your weight back onto your heels.
- Standing up from the squatted position, use your hips to propel the weight to hip level.
- Engaging the hips and core, swing the weight up higher until you reach shoulder level. Focus on using your hips and legs to move the weight, rather than your arms.
What’s Next?
When you begin kettlebell training, it is a good idea to practice kettlebell swings in addition to your normal workouts. Then, when you are comfortable with the movements begin to increase weight and attempt a more difficult kettlebell exercise routine.
When you have perfected the swing form, try this workout.
Warm-up:
2 rounds, 30 seconds each
Body Weight Squat
Jumping Jack
Arm Circles (forward /backward, large/small)
Alternate Lunge (each leg)
Training:
5 Rounds
20x Kettlebell Swing
20x Dumbbell Plank Row
20x Dumbbell Squat and Press
Rest @ 30 sec max.
5 rounds
15x Sit-up
5x Push-up
Joe Vennare, Co-Founder and Director of Programming, Hybrid Athlete
These kettlebell exercises are Pretty Hard Work. Make sure you are watching your form and if you need assistance ask the trainer on duty at your gym.
What action steps have you taken to day to prepare yourself for beach season? read more →
Run Your Butt Off
To add shape and tone to your rear end…run on mother earth, Not a treadmill, stairstepper, bike or ellipitical machine. They don’t do anything for your butt muscles, mainly because the design of the machine doesn’t allow the butt muscles to contract and activate…and if you don’t use it you will lose it!
When you run outside you activate the three major groups of your lower body – your thighs, hamstrings and butt muscles. Unfortunately when training on a machine…the machine, by virtue of their design, only activates your thigh muscles….which is why so many of my female patients/clients complain to me that they have been using a machine steadily for weeks and hasn’t noticed a difference in the rear end.
Let me also say that the faster you jog, sprinting or interval training really firms up the muscles because the faster you run the stronger your butt muscles have to contract in order to propel you forward.
Dr. Len Lopez, President, Work Horse Fitness
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Swimsuit Ready Challenge
This exercise is part of our Swimsuit Ready Challenge (April 2-30, 2012). Do this exercise and comment below “I did this!” to be entered to win our $100 and $50 giveaways. You may enter up to one time per day through April 30th.
Also – be sure to share this on Facebook, Pinterest and other sites to let your friends cheer you on or – better yet – join in on the challenge so they can hang out on the beach with you this summer! read more →
This Prize for our Swimsuit Ready Challenge comes to us from personal trainer, Shaun Zetlin of ZetlinFitness.com.
About Shaun
As the son of a professional bodybuilder, Shaun was exposed to weightlifting and exercise at a very young age. After overcoming his own personal physical limitations that consisted of being born with club feet and terrible gross motor skills, Shaun made it his mission to share his passion and knowledge to help others strive to meet their fitness goals.
Shaun’s Background and Qualifications
For the past ten years, he has successfully run his own personal training business in the New York Metro area by being able to relate to each client’s specific individual needs and goals.
Shaun prides himself on developing exercise plans and nutritional menus for any client’s fitness goals. His clientele ranges from the: athlete, senior citizen, bodybuilder, and dancer. Furthermore, Shaun’s specialties include strength training, power techniques, corrective injury training and core stability training.
In addition to the his highly regarded Master trainer status, some of his National Academy of Sports Medicine certifications include: certified personal trainer, Pre and Post Natal, Corrective Exercise Practices, Cardiovascular Weight Loss Specialist, Youth Training, and Senior Citizen Training. Additionally, he is certified by the International Sports Science Association (ISSA) as a Sports Performance Nutrition Specialist. Furthermore, Shaun earned his Bachelors degree in English Literature and Writing from the University of Delaware.
Shaun has had his award winning tips and articles published with a variety of magazines and websites in the world of fitness from: World Price Publishing, Weight Watchers, Brides, Prevention, OnFitness Magazine, Fitness Magazine, and GO: AirTran Magazine.
Shaun is the host of his own radio show called, “The Zetlin Fitness Show” that can be listened to on this website under the media page.
The Prize
Shaun will create a 30-day Internet personalized workout routine for your specific fitness goals.
Moreover, he will conduct a number of crucial assessments to determine a tailored program that is custom built for not only getting you in shape aesthetically, but improving your overall health and body function as well. For example, Shaun will be able to determine what muscles are over active (tight) and under active (weak) on your body. He will then be able to design a workout routine that will help prevent aches, pains, and injury.
Furthermore, he will analyze any postural distortions to develop a functional routine to improve those issues. This web-based program includes an individualized program design complete with progression routines, scheduled follow-ups, and checkpoints. Please note that Shaun is accessible to his clients always, not just during their training session. He is always available to answer any questions or concerns you may have!
Enter to win this prize – just add a comment like “I want this!” to let us know you want this prize. Then – share it with your friends and go check out the other prizes that are available this month in our Swimsuit Ready Challenge!
(If this is the first prize you’re entering to win, you’ll need to Register for a login – it is super easy, just follow the instructions and you can use the same login over and over again to enter to win the prizes.) read more →
This prize for our Swimsuit Ready Challenge comes to us from Joe Vennare of HybridAthlete.org.
About Hybrid Athlete
Hybrid Athlete is a nationally recognized innovator of fitness programming; providing online training packages and onsite instructional workshops for fitness professionals, general fitness seekers and athletes of all ability levels. Hybrid Athlete is the creation of business partners and brothers Anthony and Joe Vennare, who have also teamed up to create Kettlebell Cardio, a kettlebell group fitness program, and Race Day Domination, a comprehensive training program for obstacle race preparation.
The Prize: The Anywhere Athlete Training Manual
You do not need a treadmill, thousands of dollars of equipment or stacks of weights to get a great workout. Training sessions can take place outdoors, at the park or at home. Varying the training environment adds variety and interest to your routine and makes working out more enjoyable. Focusing on functional, total body workouts that require little more than a kettlebell, a jump rope, or your own bodyweight, the Anywhere Athlete Training Manual allows you to train anywhere, anytime.
This program is ideal for anyone who:
- Does not have the time or expendable income to spend at the gym
- Travels frequently and is seeking a workout routine that can be performed in a hotel fitness center or their room
- Is tired of doing the same old workout at their local fitness center and getting no results
Goals:
- Provide a comprehensive and progressive workout that can be done anywhere, anytime with minimal space and equipment requirements
- Develop a foundation of functional movement patterns, relative strength, mobility, and total body conditioning that allows the body to move more efficiently
- Gradually increase duration and intensity of training sessions to promote constant improvement in abilities
Enter to win this prize – just add a comment like “I want this!” to let us know you want this prize. Then – share it with your friends and go check out the other prizes that are available this month in our Swimsuit Ready Challenge!
(If this is the first prize you’re entering to win, you’ll need to Register for a login – it is super easy, just follow the instructions and you can use the same login over and over again to enter to win the prizes.)
Sometimes taking time for rest and recovery feels like a set-back or even an act of weakness. But, if we maintain that sort of thinking our body will get us to take our needed rest one way or another – and chances are, we won’t like that method very much at all.
To keep from feeling like you’re slacking off, schedule your rest days into your workout routine. That way you won’t feel like you should be doing something else.
Rest and recovery are an important part of your intense training routine. Learn why taking the necessary downtime from your training will help decrease your recovery time and how to know when your rest time is long over-do.
As you dive into your workout routine and make it a habit you start to hear more and more about the balance between workout and rest. For someone who is new to an intense training program it is important to find that balance. We want to make sure we don’t allow ourselves excuses to skip training days, however we don’t want to risk injury either.
Learn from our experts how to find the right workout and rest balance that’s right for you:
A Rest Day After Every Work Out Day? Maybe Not
Resting because you have had a work out can present a large dilemma wrought with excuses and rationalizations justifying “resting”. Split routine work outs were started way back with Arnold and “the guys” lifting 400 and 600 pounds. Most of us do not use such behemoth weights.
If you are not working out intensely and resting during your work out, you do not need a rest day(s). Puttering on the treadmill and showing up for yoga are not work outs requiring rest. Boot camp, Insanity, and lifting 50% or more of your body weight equates to an intense work out which should not be completed more than 3 days per week.
Resting from an intense work out such as a “CrossFit” type of work out, or a kickboxing class is essential to prevent injury. Active rest at least one day per week is best, focusing on a full range of motion stretching routine. Indeed a leisurely bike ride or chasing your kids around the park followed by stretching would be an excellent rest day.
Jodean Petersen, B.S. ACSM-CPT, Health Coach, Jodean Petersen
Rest is as Important as Work
Your body needs a right balance of hard work and real rest. I recommend taking at least one full day off per week from all exercise. I think of it as a “sabbath”. It is wise to take a day to quiet the mind AND the body with down time. Ideally, do about 4 cardio hours a week, 3 strong strength sessions, and daily stretching. Planning ahead will allow the balance!
Nancy Radding, Fitness Director, The Oaks at Ojai
How did you find the right balance between workout and rest during your intense training? read more →
The Knowing Flow – The Complete Package 
Race Day Domination: Obstacle Expert Package (Digital Product) 
Kettlebell Total Body Conditioning (DVD) 
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