My friend invited me to join a 5k obstacle race with him in June.  Now, I haven’t run a 5k in a very long time.  The last time I consistently ran the 5k was when I was living in Houston and ran around Memorial Park once or twice per week.  It was no problem for me back then.  Since then, however, I have focused on higher intensity training, so I am not sure how difficult a longer, more endurance type of race will be.  This is a 5k run with obstacles like jumping over pits, climbing walls, and crawling under barbed wire in the mud.  Here is the routine I will use to train:

Weeks 1 and 2 

Run 10 – 20 minutes 3-5 days per week.  The purpose of this is not only to get my endurance up, but to get my joints prepared for the stresses of a 5k run.  If my knees begin to hurt before the 20 minute mark, I will stop for the day.

Week 3 

M, W, F: Run 20 – 30 minutes

           5 100 yard sprints (Skip the sprints if more rest is needed)

T, Th: To build strength for the obstacles and build endurance, do 3 circuits consisting of:

5 Kb Cleans

5 KB Snatches

Max Rep Pullups 

Week 4 

M, W, F: Run 5k

          10 100 yard sprints (Skip the sprints if more rest is needed)

T, Th: 3 circuits consisting of:

5 Kb Cleans

5 KB Snatches

Max Rep Pullups 

Wish me luck and if you have any tips for me, please leave them in the comments!! 

Thanks

Technorati Tags: 5k Race, 5k Run, Training, Training for a 5k Run

Follow these eight workout tips to improve your fitness results:

1.  Eat a Healthy Diet: Diet is the most important factor when trying to improve your fitness results.  A bad diet will kill a perfect workout routine by slowing any progress to a tiny crawl.  A good diet will allow you to maximize your results with minimal effort.  I follow a Paleo diet and have cut my workout volume by half, all while gaining muscle and loosing fat.  Here are some important tips to consider about diet:

Eat enough protein:

Protein is essential for repairing and building muscle mass. If you don’t get enough protein, you aren’t going to get the results you want from your workout.  Cardio and strength training both require protein to fuel and build muscle.  A good rule of thumb is to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass.

Eat plenty of healthy fats:

There is a lot of confusion and fear about consuming fat.  However, fat is calorically dense and is one of the body’s best sources of fuel.  If you get good amounts of sunlight and your overall sugar consumption is low, then having a decent amount of fat in the diet is OK.  Be sure to get your fat from quality sources, like fish, walnuts, and avocados, so that your O6:O3 ratio is close to 3:1 or 2:1

Carbs:

Carbs are the body’s other source of fuel.  Eat lots of non-starchy fruits and veggies for your carbs.  They are high in the nutrients your body needs to repair itself and they don’t cause high spikes in blood sugar levels.

2.  Lift Heavy: Lift the heaviest weight possible while still maintaining good form.  Heavy weights are not just for those who want to bulk up; this is a common misconception.  Lifting heavy will increase the production of the growth hormones needed for building muscle and burning fat.  It will also increase your metabolism so that an additional amount of fat will burn while you rest.  That’s double the fat burning of lifting light.

3.  Do occasional high intensity (2-3 times per week) and lots of low intensity (walking, stretching, etc.) the rest of the week  High intensity workouts will release huge surges of hormones that will quickly change your body composition.  However, if you do them too often without enough rest, you will burn yourself out and increase inflammatory markers in your body, which lead to a bunch of other issues, like joint problems, weight gain, irritability, and so on.  (It has even been linked to cancer and Alzheimer’s!!)  While I do stress the importance of rest, stay active and keep moving as much as possible on off days.  This will keep you limber and help speed up recovery.

4.  Compound exercises: Instead of doing isolation exercises, maximize your workout time by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you can get a full-body workout. Studies show that full body workouts release more growth hormones than isolation exercises.  Some great compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, good mornings, lunges, pushups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pull ups, and dips.

5.  Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy: It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t continue your workout routines if they’re boring. Pick something you enjoy, whether it’s running, walking, swimming, biking, hiking, hopping on one leg, or racing the dog. I like swimming, and running, and one day I’ll outrun you, Freddy.

6.  Mix it up: Don’t stick to the same workout routine for too long, or your body will adjust to the stress level and you won’t get an effective workout. Also, doing the same thing every time will lead to mental burnout and cause you to stop working out. 

7.  Get your sleep:  Sleep is essential for repairing and building muscle tissue.  Without adequate sleep, your body will never be able to fully repair itself, which, initially, will just slow your progress, but over time, will lead to injuries.  A minimum of seven hours per night is required, but many people need more.  Sometimes I need a good 9 hours of sleep to recover from my workouts.

8.  STRETCH!!!!  Stretch before and after you work out.  It acts as a warm up/cool down for your muscles, prevents injuries, and improves your performance by increasing your body’s range of motion.  It also helps to minimize that soreness that sometimes hits you like a train the next morning.

Technorati Tags: workout tips

Here is my weekly workout routine for April 2012.  It is a combination of the kettle bell swing routine from The 4-Hour Body and a simple, yet tough, ab routine that I stole from my brother.  This is the ab routine the coaches at his old boxing gym made their students do.

This workout should be done three days a week for four weeks, with one day’s rest between each workout.  Of course, “rest” doesn’t mean sitting on a couch and drinking Diet Coke.  Do something active, yet easy.  I normally go for long walks with my dog.  If you don’t have a dog, go with your girlfriend.  If you don’t have a girlfriend, go by yourself. (I love walking by myself J)   You can also do light stretching, swimming, or bike riding on rest days.  Whatever you choose, just be sure it’s something enjoyable and relaxing. 

Day 1

75- 100 Kettle bell Swings

10 cleans with a heavy weight.

I do my swings and cleans with a 62 pound kettle bell.  If you don’t have a kettle bell, use a dumb bell or a heavy bag filled with books for the swings, and do Crossfit thrusters in place of the cleans.

Day 2 – (This day is optional.  If you need more time to recover from Day 1’s workout, skip this and go for a long walk instead)

Hold a plank for 20 minutes.  If you can do 20 minutes all at one time, do it.  Don’t break it up into smaller sets unless you absolutely have to. This is the workout I stole from my brother; my abs killed me for days.

10-15 minutes jump rope.

Day 3

75 – 100 KB swings

10-20 minutes of gymnastic/breakdance training.  Lately, I have been practicing my handstands and trying to do 1990 spins (doing a handstand, then spinning a complete circle on one hand).  You can also practice doing windmills and flairs, the two moves I really wish I could pull off.  For gymnastic training, visit gymnasticswod.com and pick one of their workouts.

That’s my weekly workout routine for this month!  I hope you guys enjoy it and if you have recommendations or comments, I’d love to hear from you!

Technorati Tags: home work out routines, kettlebell training, plank, weekly workout

I like to change my workout routine every few weeks. I think it’s best to keep things fresh and interesting. Some people say you need to change your workouts every month in order to take advantage of “muscle confusion”; however, I think one should mix up their workouts to keep things fun as this is the only way to continue working out on a long-term basis without mental burnout. I like to think of my workouts as a sort of play time, where I can de-stress, feel happy, and maintain my health all at the same time.

I’d like to share with you my current weekly workout plan. The only equipment needed is a pull-up bar and a place to run. If you don’t have room to run, substitute the running with jump-rope, burpees, or kettlebell/dumbbell swings.

Do the following workout 2 – 3 times per week. On your off days, do some stretching and light physical activity. Do something fun, such as biking, walking, rock climbing, break dancing, swimming, ect. Remember, exercise needs to be fun to stick to it over the long-haul.

Have fun with this! As I change my weekly workout routines, I’ll keep you posted.

Warm Up:

Dynamic Stretching (front kicks, side kicks, back kicks, torso spins, arm spins) – 10 minutes

Workout:

Frog Stand (knees on elbows) – accumulate a 1 minute hold

Back Lever, Tucked Position – accumulate a 1 minute hold

L-sit – accumulate a 1 minute hold

3 Sprints (20 second sprint, 2 minute rest)

Cool Down:

Passive Stretching, whatever feels sore and tight, 10 minutes minimum

Technorati Tags: Balance exercises, frog stand, home work out routine, L-sit, Levers, Sprint workouts, weekly workout

Home work out routines can be great alternatives to working out in gyms.  Gyms are often crowded, forcing you to wait in line to use the machines.  By working out at home, you can avoid these lines, and thus have a better, more intense workout.  Also, driving across town to get to a gym sucks.  I, myself, have skipped many workouts because I didn’t feel like driving. Don’t get me wrong, gyms are great places to go if you want to lift heavy weights and bulk up, but if are looking to trim down, improve coordination and flexibility, gain lean muscle mass, and improve cardiovascular strength, gyms are totally unnecessary.  Mix things up and try creating your own home work out routines with following, none of which require any equipment at all.

Running/Sprinting

This can be done almost anywhere.  Run around your neighborhood or a nearby park, if available.  Work your way up to a simple 5k, and once that becomes easy, try increasing your distance or increasing your speed.  I prefer to increase my speed.  Sprints are great running exercises too.  It is actually healthier to sprint than to jog because sprinting improves cardiovascular health faster than jogging and releases more of the growth hormones necessary for burning fat and building muscle.  For starters, sprint at 100% capacity for 20 seconds, then rest (walk or jog at 50% max effort) for 2 minutes.  Do three sets of this.  Each week, add an additional set and eventually work your way up to eight sets of sprints.  

Bodyweight Exercises

There is an almost endless supply of bodyweight exercises that can be done in your living room, backyard, or garage (or wherever else is convenient for you) that will build muscle and strength.  From simple moves like pushups, sit-ups, and air squats, to more advanced moves like planches, handstand pushups, and 1-legged squats, you can work out every muscle in your body just as well, if not better, than you can in a gym on weight machines. As an added benefit, bodyweight exercises improve flexibility and coordination.  Weight machines made me stiff.  When I switched to bodyweight routines, my flexibility and eye-hand coordination improved drastically.  Try this sample bodyweight workout routine:

• Cross Body Pushups (10 each side)
• Jumping Lunges (10 each leg)
• 20 Burpees  
• Planks (30-60 seconds pick 1) 

After completing all exercises, rest 2 minutes and repeat the circuit 2 more times for a total of 3 rounds.

Breakdancing

I know, sounds crazy right.  But try it and you will be impressed.  Many breakdancing moves are rooted in gymnastics.  If you are looking for a high-intensity, power building, full-body workout, look no farther.  Not only are the moves incredibly fun to do, but they will work your muscles like no other workout.  The first time I tried it, I woke up the next morning feeling like a truck ran me over. My legs, core, and upper body were sore for days.  A word of caution though, many moves can be dangerous and cause injury to the novice. Start easy and work your way up. Begin with easy top rocks (great for cardio and legs) and the six step (great for the entire body). After a few workouts, try some freezes (baby freeze, shoulder freeze , and elbow freeze are the easiest), handstand variations, and monkey flips.   Once you get these down, start learning windmills, flairs, and headspins.

Home work out routines can be fun and are just as effective as gym workouts.  The above workouts are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to working out at home. Experiment with them and create your own home work out routine that will help you reach your fitness goals.

Technorati Tags: bodyweight exercises, breakdancing, home work out routines, running, sprinting