Carioca Demonstration

CARI- WHAT???!!!

Picture this... You are about to workout and need to warm-up, but don't want to do the wimpy walking on a treadmill for 5 minutes. That never targets your full body anyway and when you exercise the full body is used so naturally that's how you really want to warm-up as well. Always introduce movement based mobility drills into your warm-ups to completely prepare you for what is to come.

You are in luck because Carioca is a great drill to get the heart rate up while warming-up the lower body and core since it allows a somewhat aggressive hip thrust as the legs quickly move in the desired direction. After that, at the very least, simply perform a movement based upper body warm-up and you are good to go. Here's a video of what Carioca is.

Gymboss Timer Review

Personally, when I workout or train, time and quality is of the essence. Even more, timing is extremely important. Most of my clients know we train for time and train for lasting the entire set which will deliver the best strength endurance result. I do a lot of Kettlebell Interval Protocols where the interval is 15s on and 15s off or 40/20, 60/30, 30/30, etc.  The Gymboss Interval Timer really comes handy as it counts not only our time, but also our total sets of intervals completed so this allows me to focus more on the form and technique of my clients rather than on where I'm at in my training session.  Ultimately it just keeps things simple.  :)

This thing is pretty handy.  Check out all the cool things it can do.

WEIGHTLIFTING
Are you Weightlifting? Any rest period you desire (30, 60, 90 seconds, 2,
3, 5 minutes, or any other time you want) can be set. When you complete
each set simply push the start button to begin timing, when it alarms
(choice of beep, vibrate, or both) begin a new set.

RUNNING / WALKING
If you are a Runner/Walker who wants to improve your race time or a walker
who wants to run, you can improve through the use of intervals by
running for short periods at a pace significantly higher than your
normal comfort zone followed by intervals of easy running or jogging.
While this type of training is usually regarded as an advanced training
technique for the experienced runner training to develop speed and
raise their anaerobic threshold, the average runner or even walkers can
benefit from this training as well.

CARDIO
Use Gymboss to create your own custom cardio workout for, bike (road or stationary), walk/running, treadmill, jump rope, elliptical trainer

CURVES
Play your own music during your workout!!!!! Using a Gymboss timer
you can do the Curves training cycle and listen to YOUR music, this
timer worn on your waistline or in your pocket will vibrate to let you
know when its time to change stations!!!!! You could also do your
workout at home or in the facility of your choice!!!!

BOXING / MARTIAL ARTS
Boxers, Grapplers, and Martial Artists can benefit from the Gymboss personal boxing training timer which allows you to time ANY round time followed by ANY rest time from 2 seconds to 60 minutes.

INTERVAL TRAINING
Stuck in an exercise slump? Try Interval Training to revitalize your aerobic
workouts. Interval Training will improve your aerobic capacity, the
ability of the body to remove oxygen from the air and transfer it
through the lungs and blood to the working muscles. You'll raise your
anaerobic threshold; the point at which the body can no longer meet its
demand for oxygen and anaerobic metabolism is accelerated. Thus, you'll
be able to work out harder and longer. You'll burn more calories,
thereby improving your physique, plus you'll add more challenge and
interest to your workouts - keeping you on the road to fitness.

SPORTS SPEED
Speed training is one of the best things you can do to better your
performance as an athlete. The greatest concern of today’s athletes in
football, hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis, track and field, running,
and almost every other sport ( except curling ) is how to improve
playing speed-the speed of all movements including starting, stopping,
accelerating, changing body direction, body contact, sprinting, and
split-second decision making during competition.

The sky is the limit for the Gymboss Interval Timer and your fitness/exercise program.
I suggest that you get one as soon as you can to assist you. It’s just
another tool to help you reach all of your health and fitness goals.

Sandbag Training Workshop with Josh Henkin- PART ONE

This past weekend I had the sincere pleasure to participate in a Josh Henkin(sandbags) and Kenneth Jay(MVO2 Kettlebell Snatch Protocol) workshop at Josh's facility(Innovative Fitness Solutions) in Scottsdale, AZ. It was a great opportunity to meet very knowledgeable trainers as well as play with a lot of Josh's "toys". This video showcases his cool gym. This is the way gyms are supposed to be!

I will be blogging about the workshop contents in more detail later this week, but just wanted to set the stage so to speak.  I learned some great new training ideas for my Boot Camps and Private Session clients and found some weakness of my own in the process.

Josh's website is: http://sandbagfitnesssystems.com/

Age VS. Exercise and Brayden's Quick Bodyweight Combo Video

Many of you have commented across the internet about how you loved the video of my 4 year old son Brayden having fun with the 8kg Pro-Grade AKC Kettlebell. I try to have him have a good time when he's exercising so that he wants to continue to do it as he grows. He sees me teach KBs and fitness practice. He sees my wife and I exercise. He sees my Kettlebells lined up in my living room and we both have our own KB necklace. He is raised among it and is encouraged to play with them. I train him a bit too, but make sure he has a great time with them so good experiences are embedded in his mind. I want fitness to be all he knows so that when he is grown being inactive is abnormal to him. That is my goal at least for him. Our kids are growing up in a time where exercise is a exercise, which can be a chore, instead of for fun.

I don't believe age, place in life, school district, country in which one is living is determining factors of being fit and being healthy. Most of my clients are Baby Boomers(50-60yrs. old), who never had video games, and they all had gym class in school as well as were encouraged to be active. Of course the women were not as much, but many still did what they could. That generation is now some of the most obese and sedentary people on the planet. It is an absolute chore for them to exercise and adapt good eating habits.

I am 31 years old. My era of schooling allowed me to attend gym class all through high school as well as play sports all year long. Many of the folks I attended school with are now out of shape and either obese or at least unhealthy. In fact I stay in touch with many of them and often times get asked to provide them with advice. I love helping and that is exactly why I got into the health and fitness industry, but it is a shame that they allow themselves to become as they are. We all can get like that though in certain ways. I'm very glad that the ones who have taken the honorable step to remedy the problem are doing so. That is a huge motion.

Ultimately we all must decide every day that we will be active and do everything we can to be as healthy nutritionally as we can. As Ori Hofmekler, author of the Warrior Diet & Anti-Estrogenic Diet books, says: "If you are not actively living, you are passively dying."

Here's another video we took that night. Pay very close attention to his pushups cause he goes so fast you won't keep up with the counting. LOL!

Integrating Kettlebells Into Fitness Programs

Kettlebells can be integrated into any fitness program.  You can train them on the same day with your other lifts and activities or you can designate them to their own day.  In my training they are exclusive based on my goals.  Before I made the goal I currently have I used to integrate them into the core of my program.  I still train all my clients in this same way.  Regardless if you use KBs or other training methods you can still over-train your body.  Recovery is key.  Nutrition is paramount.  Adequate sleep is vital.

Here is what I did the past couple days in my Boot Camp classes.  You will see both K-bells and other movements right in the workout.  What I display here is only the core working sets of the 45 min. session.  This excludes the warm-up, mobility drills as well as cooldown which includes abs and synergy stretch.  These are all extremely important to training.  If you are not properly warming up with mobility drills and cooling down with yoga type stretches then you can never achieve you true potential and potentially can open up the door for future injury.

I have the clients perform the circuit with the working set of seconds followed by the rest set of seconds.  Then after each round we take about a minute or two to recover before beginning the next round.  If your rest set is too "long" then you need to work harder during your working set. 

Routine 1:
Workout: 3 Rounds (40s/20s)
Push Press (R&L)
Figure 8 to a Hold
Situps
High Pull (R&L)

Routine 2:
Workout: 3 Rounds (60s/30s)
Bear Crawl
Overhead KB Lunges(R&L)
Pushups
Frog Hops
Jog 2 Min.

Routine 3:
Workout: 3 Rounds (40s/20s)
Slingshots(R&L) [move around the waist with straight arms and feet at shoulder width while keeping hips sqr]
Box steps/ jumps
Around The Worlds(R&L) [move around the head with the bell]
Virtual Jump Rope
Squats

As you can see there are many bodyweight movements as well as non-traditional KB movements.  Of course feel free to experiment on your own.  I'll be curious to see what you come up with.  Comment here and let us know!

I hope this info helps.  Coming soon I will be blogging about the Anatomy of Basic Program Design.  Keep stopping by and please let me know your thoughts.

Dealing With Myofacial Pain

A lot of folks have pain in their knees and/or hips and they immediately believe it to be a joint issue.  While certainly a possiblity, in my experience most "knee pain", "hip pain", lower back pain, and even shoulder pain can be resolved by releasing the myofacia.  What in the world is myofacia, and how will releasing it help me, do you ask?  The myofacia is the protective sheathing that the muscles are in which connect it to organs and bones. 

One of the most common pain areas is in the knees; however much of the pain is actually rooted to the Illiotibial Band or IT Band.  The IT Band is located in the hip and stretches down to the knee joint.  It is a muscle that you can feel on the side of your leg.  Most likely you have tight spots there and a major source of your inflammation which then transfers into your knee, hip, or both.  One of its purposes of the IT Band is to keep your body laterally stable.  There are numerous causes to how injuries, tightness, inflammation, and trigger points can begin in this area, but ultimately what matters is the resolution. 

No matter if your IT Band has the problem or your upper back, or wherever you can apply the principles of this article.  When your body is inflammed, whether it be chronic or acute, your immune system is not at its strongest and so therefore neither are you. Just because you don't have symptoms does not mean you are well. Always focus on the balance of your body and you will be working on staying well. Staying well is an ongoing practice.



1. Foam rolling works very, very well. I do this daily. You can also grab a golf ball and toss it in a sock and get those trigger points just like a massage therapist's elbow. Instead of simply rolling you need to find the heart of the heart of the heart of the center of the pain. Then apply pressure and hang out there for about 15-20 seconds. Focus on relaxing all the relative muscles and breating. Your breathing will get you through all pain.

2. Pineapple by day and ginger by night will decrease inflammation.  Pineapple has an enzyme in it called Bromelian and it works very well to decrease inflammation as well as breaking down protein.  I suggest eating fresh pineapple during the day due to the sugars within the fruit.  Ginger at night(or any time) will have almost no impact on spiking your insulin and it will do the same job.

3. Schedule a deep tissue massage for further and regular work.

4. Soak in an Epsom Salt bath and then use the foam roller and golf ball.

5. If you put your body through a cleanse and then eat organic you will definitely notice great improvements.

6.  The most important one, and I am writing this last so you remember it, is drink LOTS AND LOTS of water.  I cannot stress that enough.  If you desire to remove toxins and drive out inflammation from your body it will not happen without water.   A gallon of water a day, minimum, is what I recommend.

By applying these tips you will decrease pain, increase your range of motion, and bring your body closer to a state a balance.

Nocturnal Eaters- BRAVO!!!

You probably think I'm going to frown upon eating at night.  Nope!  Instead I recommend it.  In fact if you do it right you will wake up much more refreshed and a much happier person with more energy throughout the day.  It's what you eat, in the right combinations, and then in the right timing that make all the difference. 

Humans are naturally nocturnal eaters.  For thousands of years we were hunters and gathers during the day.  We didn't eat much during the daytime as we gathered and hunted.  At night we put all that we collected and caught together as a feast for the family, tribe, community and everyone ate well.  The meal was balanced and organic since the chemicals in today's foods such as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers were not present. All of those contain MSG in them which causes nervous issues as well as cancer.  Those chemicals also cause elevated estrogen levels which suppress Growth Hormone and Testosterone.  That's not very good.  So always eat organic whenever you can.  The cost is really not that different any more.

Ok so now that we have established that humans have it in their genes to be nocturnal eaters there's no need to fear or feel guilty for your late night cravings.  Instead embrace them and simply eat the right foods in the right combinations. It's what we eat and when we eat it that truly matters and makes a huge difference.

In fact indigenous people in South America, Australia, and Africa still eat this same way even today.  They don't have the cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol as the Western World does.  Of course they have other issues because they're all inbred, but that's another article topic altogether for another time.

I do not subscribe to the eating of 5-6 small meals per day.  When you do that you increase insulin levels and when insulin is up you are storing fat.  Growth Hormone and Glucagon must be up in order to burn fat.  That mainly happens when you are not eating.  Studies have shown that it takes roughly 72 hours of not eating before your body begins to use muscle as fuel.  So there should be no fear of losing muscle and withering away.  It just won't happen.

The 5-6 meal per day notion came about with the Bodybuilder style of eating.  Approximately 1% of the world are bodybuilders so the rest of us 99%ers need not eat like them or exercise like them.  Bodybuilders are athletes and they have different goals than most everyone else.  You wouldn't go out and eat as a marathon runner does getting ready for a race.  If people did there would be an even more obesity and health epidemic than we have now.  Think about it this way- if eating frequent meals worked then why is everyone fat and unhealthy?  It's because it doesn't work.  The human body doesn't need to eat that way and is not programmed to eat that way.

When we eat or don't eat we are working with 2 main nervous systems: Sympathetic and Para-Sympathetic.  Sympathetic (aka fight or flight): When exercising body energy is focused on skeletal muscles. Basically shuts down digestion.  Parasympathetic (aka feed or breed): After a meal body focuses on digestion and absorption of nutrients. Upon vigorous exercise your body is trying to void the stomach of its contents so it can focus on your musculoskeletal system. Your body prefers to have one system dominant at a time. That's why you're mother and grandmother always told you to not go swimming after you eat. The 2 components of your nervous system are "competing" and you may cramp/drown.

So during the day when we don't eat we engage the Sympathetic Nervous System(SNS).  When that happens our GH is high, our testosterone is elevated, our insulin is low, our glucagon is elevated, and all that causes us to be much more alert, energized, vigorous, and in a fat burning environment.  As soon as we eat enough to disrupt that the Para-Sympathetic Nervous System engages and we begin slowing down due to the blood needed for digestion.  Our body may feel sluggish and not as alert.  Our vigor has been drained and the fat burning slowed down to potential fat storage.  This is why if we eat our main balanced meal at night then we will be able to sleep much, much better and feeling sluggish won't matter since we are going to be sleeping anyway.  We regenerate and build about 75% of our muscle while we sleep each night.  That is one reason why sleep is so vital.  We can't really store protein, but we can build muscle so protein is not generally needed during the day, but only at night- with one exception.  The exception being a post workout recovery meal if you're exercising in the morning or afternoon.  Then you can have about 20-30g of protein and the same in simple carbs to return your body to an anabolic(muscle recovery) state out of a catabolic(muscle breakdown) state.

If you EVER feel hungry during the day drink water. If you think you've drank a lot already, but are still hungry drink some more. Most of the time when people think they are hungry they are actually thirsty, but are not used to recognizing that subtle feeling.  If your mouth ever gets dry you are already dehydrated.
Get through the day and then eat your main meal at night. ALWAYS start with a big salad filled with as many colored veggies as you can. Then eat your protein, then good fats, and then sleep well. Do your absolute best not to eat very many grains.

What if you work third shift?
Not a problem, but for you then you will want to eat relative to what your "dinner" is.  Then during the hours preceding either eat only small fruits and/or veggies or don't eat anything at all.  In either case be sure to drink A LOT of water.  So drink water to curve the cravings and any hunger pains.  Then eat a balance of the right foods at night with good fats being your primary fuel source instead of starches and grains.  Do that and you will never be healthier and more energized!

To sum it up in 3 sentences:  During the day don't eat anything, but 2 pieces of fruit- no bigger than your fist- 4 hours apart and then at night eat a very well balanced meal. Drink half your weight in ounces of water daily. You will be very healthy, feel super energized and have a very lean body.

I will touch more on exactly what to eat in upcoming articles.

*Big thanks to Ori Hofmekler(author of the Warrior Diet) for his research into much of this.