URBAN BOOT CAMP 2014 STARTS SOON!

URBAN Boot Camp: Adventure Series

WHEN: July 7 - August 13, 2014

DAYS: Monday/Wednesday

TIME: 6:30 - 7:30 PM

LOCATIONS: Tryon Creek State Park, Washington Park, Eastside Waterfront Esplanade, Forest Park (via rotation schedule)

ENTRY FEE: $225.00

How much rest do you need between workout sessions?

After a fantastic track workout last night, one of our UBC participants asked about how often they should do resistance training (lift weights, use resistance bands, do body weight exercises, etc) during the week. The amount of rest needed between workouts depends on a number of factors including:

* The type of lifestyle you want to maintain - Are you simply working to improve your overall health, or are you training for a sport or to maintain an active lifestyle?
* The type and level of activity/sports you are training for - Do you want to go for weekend bike rides or hikes, or are you entering a marathon or a triathlon this year?
* Your fitness goals - Is your focus on feeling better and losing body fat, or are you entered in an event and want to improve your running speed and muscle endurance?
* The amount of time you are willing to devote consistently - Can you schedule a block of time, or do you need to break up your exercise throughout the day?
* The number of weeks/months you've been exercising - Have you been working out intensely for a few weeks, or are you just beginning?

If you are a beginning exerciser, these are some general guidelines to follow:

* Strength train for all major muscle groups on non-consecutive days, allowing roughly 48 hours per body part worked. If you are still sore from a previous workout, just work out less intensely or use lighter weight. Don't skip the workout! We recommend one additional workout on your off-UBC days, which is provided for you. You can, however, choose different exercises tailored to your specific needs. Discuss your situation with your instructor for guidance.

* Cardiovascular exercise can be done on consecutive days, 3-5 days per week for 20-40 minutes (with UBC that's 1-3 additional workouts). Varying the intensity/duration is acceptable, but again, don't skip workouts.

* Do something every day, even if it's just 10 minutes of stretching or a brisk walk. This will help to keep you on track and focused even on scheduled off-days.

* Every four to eight weeks (depending on your exercise intensity) have an active rest week. Do activities outside of your normal exercise sessions. This can include hiking, kyaking, swimming, et cetera, but the goal is to do something different. This will help to keep you from feeling stagnate and lessen your chance of injury due to overuse and exhaustion. Keep in mind that if you typically work out at a very high intensity, you may need to take a complete rest for the week.

Ultimately, keep in mind that the creation of healthy, consistent exercise habits is the most important thing. Discovering what works for you and your lifestyle is also key. While there are certain biological and physiological similarities, your fitness journey is a unique one that has to be tailored to your needs. Rest is important, but you have to "do" before you rest. Find what you like and do it. Even if you start with only 5-10 minutes of general movement, staying focused and consistent will help you build up and achieve more.

For more information visit the U.S. Department of Human Services' website: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

High Five on "The Hill"

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.

Here's a great article on hill running: Everything You Need To Know About Hill Training

Now, your turn.

Here's a plyo workout:

Squat reaches
Pushups

Split squat
Plank reaches

Squat jumps
Side hover

Split jumps
Plank walks

Ice skaters
Reverse plank w/hip dips

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.

Have fun!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

"Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement." ~ Alfred Adler

Check out some of the movement at URBAN Boot Camp this week!

CLICK HERE

Average assessment results (2/2/10)

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ending Performance Results*
Winter I 2010

shuttle run (# trips/2 min), 23.5 (start # 18) --> 30% improvement

pushups (# reps/30 secs), 12 (start # 11) --> 9% improvement

sit ups (# reps/30 secs), 13.33 (start # 10) --> 33% improvement

squat (# reps/1 min), 29.83 (start # 27) --> 10% improvement

pushups/sit ups 5x5 (# reps/1 min), 4.25 (start # 1.5) --> 183% improvement

burpees (# reps/1 min), 16.5 (start # 10) --> 16% improvement

line jump (# reps/1 min), 137.16 (start # 116) --> 18% improvement

hover (# mins), 81.66 (start # 56) --> 45% improvement

*Improved assessment numbers in bold.

The body can't help but improve with proper training and effort. Awesome work everyone!
Working on getting the pictures and video from last night up. Stay tuned!

To your fitness success!

Basic Training: Body Comp, BMI and Energy Systems

We "completed" Basic Training this week! At least in the sense that everyone focused on acclimating to their new workout environment and focusing on foundational exercises, including calisthenics such as pushups, squats, and situps. The knowledge continues, however, as we apply and build upon what we've learned.

Ron, Laura, and Gretchen each won a prize in our Countdown Burpees Challenge. Congrats! Everyone else also did a fantastic job, but were more than happy that they won since the challenge ended when the first three people finished... Whew!

Here are some Basic Training highlights:

Body composition is the ratio of lean body mass (muscles, bones, skin, etc) to body fat mass.

General Body Fat Percentage Categories*:
Classification Women (% fat) Men (% fat)
Essential Fat 10-12% 2-4%
Athletes 14-20% 6-13%
Fitness 21-24% 14-17%
Acceptable 25-31% 18-25%
Obese 32% plus 25% plus
*American Council on Exercise

Body Mass Index (BMI) estimates whether what you weigh is the appropriate amount for your height. Desirable BMIs for adults is between 19 and 24. Overweight is defined as a body mass index between 25.0 and 30.0. Obesity is defines as a BMI of 30.0 or greater. Calculate yours here: BMI Calculator

There are two basic energy systems of the body: aerobic (producing ATP energy from oxygen) and anaerobic (producing ATP energy without oxygen). The "talk test" can give you an idea of how hard you're working. In terms of training, you are considered to be "aerobic" when you can speak comfortably during your workout (think walking, running, or biking on a flat surface). You are working out anaerobically when your breathing becomes very labored and you may even gasp for air (think heavy weight training, sprinting, and jumping, or from the first example walking, running, or biking up hill).

The training continues!
Watch for pics next week.
May even throw in a video...

Average assessment results (1/4/10)

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” ~ Lao Tzu

Beginning Performance Results
Winter I 2010

shuttle run (# trips/1 min), 18
pushups (# reps/30 secs), 11
sit ups (# reps/30 secs), 10
squat (# reps/1 min), 27
pushups/sit ups 5x5 (# reps/1 min), 1.5
burpees (# reps/1 min), 10
line jump (# reps/1 min), 116
hover (# mins), 56

Let's get ready to rumble!

"Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." ~Cavett Robert

Welcome to URBAN Boot Camp 2010!


Got goals for your fitness this year? So do we!

Wanna know what we have in store this year? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned and keep up! Get ready for the best year ever! In the meantime, get prepared and "Create S.M.A.R.T. Fitness Goals"!

Avoid running injuries

For many URBAN Boot Campers, running is an important component of long term success. Unforeseen injuries and pain can hinder exercise adherence and are often the result of overtraining or improper conditioning. A recent review of research has shown a number of muscular imbalances to be the cause of injury, most notably weak gluteals.

Research review from Exercise ETC:

"Many Running Injuries Attributed to Weak Hips"

Statistics indicate that between 65% and 80% of all recreational and competitive runners experience some type of overuse injury annually. Such injuries include patellofemoral knee pain, illiotibial band syndrome, shin splints, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, and stress fractures. The vast majority of such injuries, ~80% affect the lower-leg, with nearly 40% occurring at the knee. Unfortunately, science and medicine have yet to truly understand the mechanisms behind such injuries.

Researchers recently reviewed the literature over a 28 year span from 1980 to 2008 and concluded that two mechanisms appear to underlie all lower-leg injuries. First, a small number of studies implicated "atypical foot pronation mechanics." Pronation, which occurs during the stance phase of gait as the foot flattens causing internal rotation of the tibia and femur, is essential to generating energy for the next stride. However, excessive or insufficient pronation leads to poor energy production and consequently to excessive motion about the foot and knee.

Second, and more prominent, researchers uncovered a growing number of studies that suggest "inadequate hip muscle stabilization" leads to a majority of overuse injuries. Because the hip muscles, specifically the gluteus medius, minimus and maximus stabilize the leg during gait, poor strength or conditioning of these muscles results in excessive stress at and below the knee.

Recent studies have shown that improving hip muscle strength reduces the incidence of knee pain in runners. With running season in full-swing throughout the country along with races every weekend there's not a better time to encourage runners to maintain their strength training programs.

Ferber, R., et al (2009) Suspected Mechanisms in the Cause of Overuse Running Injuries: A Clinical Review. Sports Health. May/June

Next time: Exercises to strengthen the gluteal muscles.

Go, Troopers, go!

Great Boot Camp session last night!

Gretchen pushed the envelope on the top performer list with a 2min/15secs hover. Sister Kathleen was not far behind holding it for 2min/10secs. Awesome! Next week we move up to our 2 mile run/walk and conquering the hill.

For an interesting twist, we've using the Army Physical Fitness Guide to compare our performance to what it takes to become a military recruit.

How do you compare?
Find out here. . .

Get ready to enlist for spring training.
Check out the upcoming schedule.