Workout of the Week

Hot Tabatas!
Stay cool and drink lots of water!

Dynamic warmup/stretch, 5-10 minutes

pushups, 20secs/10secs rest x 3
dips, 20secs/10secs rest x 3
squat jumps, 20secs/10secs rest x 3 ea leg

cardio: jumprope and/or shuttle run, 2 minutes

bentover row, 20secs/10secs rest x 3
biceps curls, 20secs/10secs rest x 3
one-leg squat, 20secs/10secs rest x 3 ea leg

cardio: jumprope and/or shuttle run, 2 minutes

Go down the list 2-3 times. Then cool down 2-5 minutes, as necessary.

Core exercise:
Hover 1 min/crunches (various) 1 min, x 3

Finish with cool down/stretch.

Putting on the brakes

While reaching optimal or top speed can be important, it's important to be able to STOP your momentum.

After all, imagine rushing down the freeway at 60-plus mph, pressing on your breaks, and nothing happening!

Well, you need to be able to slow down and stop yourself when performing dynamic exercises such as running, jumping, and cutting (changing direction) as well. You also need to guard against potential injuries caused by a lack of bodily control and stabilization, and allows excessive, often damaging movement.

The key to deceleration is eccentric contraction. You may know it as "the negative". During an eccentric contraction, muscles lengthen while loaded to control movement. That means when you RLH (sprint) or JS (land from a jump) as we call it in UBC, your muscles need to optimally dissipate and control the force of your stopping, directional changes and landings. In relation to the legs specifically, your hamstrings (back of thighs), need to shorten slowly, relatively speaking, while the muscles controlling the ankles stabilize the feet.

Stay tuned for more on how to improve your ability to decelerate and improve your performance at UBC.

Training for life!

Workout of the Week

Back and Forth

2 min cardio

squats, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
pushups 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

2 min cardio

lunge (of your choice), 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
bentover row, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

2 min cardio

biceps curls, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3
triceps dips, 20 sec on/10 sec off x 3

Warmup 8-10 min (include brief stretching)
Cooldown 10 minutes.

Workout of the Week

Move It!

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
One-leg squat, 30 secs
Spiderman pushups, 30 secs
Side plank w/hip dips, 30 secs ea side

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
Fwd/bwd lunge, 30 secs ea side
Seated row, 30 secs
T-stand, 30 secs

2 min cardio (ie jumprope, running, etc)
Side squats, 30 secs
Biceps curl, 30 secs
Triceps dips, 30 secs

Dynamic warmup 8-10 mins. Go down the list 2-3 times, resting/stretching as necessary between supersets. Finish with cooldown/stretch.

Breaking through fitness plateaus

Even if you have "the best" workout plan in the world it won't be long before you notice that you're not getting the same results you did when you first started. This is often the result of two main culprits, 1) your body has already made the necessary changes (adaptations) to the stressor (exercise routine) and doesn't need to do anything more (you've plateaued), or 2) you may be overtraining, meaning that your body needs to rest.

Fortunately, the fix for these two problems is not too hard to overcome. Follow these simple steps to fire things back up and move to the next level.

1). Rest. If you've been going fast and furious for a few months take a couple of days off. To keep you from losing your fitness habit, use your normal workout time for more calming activities such as stretching, yoga, or a massage treatment.

2). Think outside the box. Cross training can add depth and purpose to your fitness routine as you use your new-found strength and abilities. Find an interesting trail to hike, go for a bike ride, try a new activity like rollerblading or indoor rock climbing. The goal is to do something new and outside of your norm.

3). Change your routine. If you've been working the same exercises, in the same order, and for the same number of set and reps...your body is bored. Generally, the average non-athlete should change routines every 4-6 weeks, if not more often. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to get rid of everything, changing the order or simply adding a new move could be enough. Additionally, you can work on slowly increasing the amount of weight you move or the number of reps/sets performed (volume). Note: don't increase volume and weight together; increase the weight OR increase the volume to help you stay injury free.

4). Look at your calories in versus calories out. If your body is no longer leaning out or building muscle progressively, your diet could be the culprit. To lose body fat, you need to create a calorie deficit ideally through exercise AND eating. Generally, that equates to eating slightly less, exercising slightly more. If building muscle is the goal, you need to eat an adequate combination of complex carbs and lean protein; "FEED the muscle" as they say.

By focusing on these tips you can give your body new stimuli, thus encouraging your body to begin creating new adaptations to push you past your plateau and on to a new level of fitness.

Workout of the Week

Core Efforts:

Pullups
Pushups
Deck squat
Side plank with hip dips

Down the list circuit style, starting at 10 reps, progress down to 1
As usual remember to warmup and cool down as appropriate for your program.