Important cues: ~ Be sure to "feel" your posture and alignment during the exercises. ~ Pull your navel in towards your spine, lift the head off the shoulders (no shrugging) and allow your shoulder blades to slide down your back. ~ Remember, "Quality" not "Quantity". ~ Take your time and do it right! ~ Breathe as naturally as possible. ~ Work at your own ability, keeping in mind any personal limitation you may have. ~ Have fun!
Workout: Face Up/Face Down #1
Cat and cow (stretch) Child's pose (stretch) Bird dog, 5-10 each side Down dog, hold 15-30 seconds (option add 5-10 knee bends after 15 sec) Hover (option alternate leg raises), hold 30-60 seconds Lie on back, bring feet up (stretch) Shoulder bridge (option, alternate knee lifts), hold 30-60 seconds Lie on back, bring feet up (stretch) Two ab crunches/one modified v-up, 10 times through Hover (option, leg waves 5-10 each side), 30-60 seconds Bikini abs, 10 each position
Between the playground obstacle course on Monday and The Hill on Wednesday, the gang is due a public high five this week!
WOOT!
This week's URBAN Boot Camp highlights include progressive plyometric work as well as "The Hill". Both are great for building strength and power, as well as the anaerobic component of the cardiovascular system. Squats, deadlifts, leg presses, and the like are great for making us stronger, but doing hill work can directly translate to your running and walking ability by quickening your stride, increasing your leg strength, and lengthening your stride, and increasing your aerobic capacity. Your muscles have no choice but to work synergistically as your entire body is supported while you perform. Participants may have joked that I "had it in for them" but they were greatly astonished at their performance so much so that by the end they were all still smiling...even Leesha!
Why? Accomplishment! The gang discovered that the so-called "impossible" was not impossible and everyone was able to go longer, farther, and perform stronger than they thought they could. The progressive nature of our program means that everything goes together and has a purpose (see guys... there IS a method to the madness. Muahahaha!)
Give your body controlled amounts of stressors and it will adapt.
Exercise 45 seconds on/15 seconds off, down the list 2-3 times. Remember quality over quantity. Stay focused and land properly EVERYtime. Of course, sandwich this between a proper warm up and cool down.
As for The Hill ...Portland has tons of hills. Find one and do shuttle runs (or fast walk): go up one block, then back down to the beginning, up two blocks, then down to the beginning. Shoot for 4-5 shuttle trips, then cool down.
Regardless of what you call them, a strong "core" is extremely important for proper development of usable strength and endurance, though it tends to be overlooked by many exercisers. Often "ab work" only focuses on successfully building the "mirror muscle" we can see (namely the "six-pack muscle", the rectus abdominus), but doesn't properly engage the deeper muscles of the core, including the transverse abdominus (your horizontal, or "corset" ab muscle). Focusing on these muscles when exercising, however, has many benefits including pulling in the midsection to gain that sleek look we all desire, decreased injury risk to our lower back, and increased athletic performance. In fact, since the core muscles form a "box" around your spine in the abdomen area, they are the powerhouse for healthy dynamic movement and improved performance in URBAN Boot Camp. Keep in mind that there are also more personal benefits including increased sexual function and incontinence prevention.
WHERE ARE THEY: Definitions may vary slightly, but generally the muscles of the core are described as the transverse abdominus, the pelvic floor muscles, the lower back muscles (erector spinae), and the diaphragm. As stated before, together they form a box around your spine in your mid-section. Keep in mind that some health and fitness professionals expand the definition of the core to include the gluteals and as well as all of the trunk muscles muscles, minus the arms and legs.
THE HOMEWORK: In last night's UBC class, everyone was encouraged to practice Kegel, or pelvic floor, exercises as a part of their regular core regimen to encourage spinal stability and enhance the abdominal and core work done in class. Your homework is to learn about, locate on yourself, and engage these muscles on your own and practice using them.
Here are some great online articles and videos to get you started:
Keep in mind that these exercises are important for men as well as women. A strong core equals more power regardless of who's body we're referring to, so listen, learn, and practice, guys.
Bruce Lee was a master at executing incredible feats of movement with unparalleled precision. One key to his incredible success was his devotion to perfect training form. While your fitness quest may not include your own version of his famous "two-finger" push up, it does illustrate what the human body is capable of and that proper exercise form is highly important to optimal fitness.
On a more practical level, exercising with bad form often leads to three things:
1) wasted training time 2) poor results 3) injury
Why? Because your bones are not positioned properly, which means your muscles can't create the most efficient amount of force in a balanced way to optimally perform the movement pattern.
What does that mean? Your body won't be trained in the most meaningful way. You'll likely overuse some muscles while underusing others. Supporting structures (aka tendons and ligaments) are forced to perform compensatory actions. Your overall training period is longer than it needs to be, in terms of noticeable change, than if your exercises were done more efficiently. Your results are less than stellar and your body, therefore, is not acquiring the look or ability you were after. Even worse, the imbalances are both visually and practically noticeable, AND they are create wear and tear on your joints and supporting structures. Your acquired dysfunctional strength/weakness then, more often than not, leads to injury.
So what can you do?
Learn to exercise correctly! Invest in yourself by taking whatever steps are necessary for you to get fit the right way.
Here are some quick tips:
1. Get help. Invest in a knowledgeable personal trainer or find a seasoned fitness partner (one who has invested time researching/learning proper technique themselves). Not only will you lessen the risk of injury, you'll also learn the necessary skills to move correctly. You'll also benefit from having someone to watch you and offer cues while you learn.
2. Use the machines. What?! Yes, as you may know I am not a big proponent of machines for most people. If you are NEW to exercise, however, and don't have someone to help you, using a machine can can help to "put" you in the right position. This can help you to acquire sound movement patterns while your mind and body learn correct positioning.
3. Slow down. One of the biggest issues with bad form is that people do exercises too fast. If you have any type of imbalance weakness, your stronger muscles WILL take over the exercise, so to speak, even if they are not suppose to. Slowing the tempo can give you a chance to consciously recruit the weaker ones.
4. Use the mirrors. Watching yourself increases your chances of doing the exercises the right way. Look at your joint positions, notice unnecessary shrugging, see and then feel where your body is in space. It's amazing how many times clients finally "get it" when they can see themselves while receiving cues.
5. Breathe. Your muscles need valuable oxygen to function properly. Holding your breath during even a single exercise repetition can cause you to feel fatigued sooner, leading to sloppy performance. Monitor your breathing and focus on maintaining a constant flow of air.
With "UBC pullups" to help develop your arm, back, and core strength in preparation for the traditional vertical position. Basically, all you need is something stable to lie under. Then, reach up and pull your chest up to it with your arms.
If your upper body is too weak to bring you up, modify the position further by bending your knees so that your feet are directly underneath them. This position will shorten the lever of your legs until you develop enough strength to maintain the plank position shown above.
The beauty of this movement is that you can do them practically anywhere. You just need a safe, stable locale. Clients and UBC'ers alike have used mid to low positioned universal gym smith bars, bicycle holders in the park, railings, playground equipment, etc.
Go down the list as many times as possible in 5 minutes; then fartlek around a track or field for 3 minutes (can sub jump rope/treadmill/elliptical/bike/etc, just MOVE!).
Repeat entire circuit 3-4 times. Be sure to cool down and stretch at the end (begin with a warmup, of course).
