Demonstrative Tuesday - How to Perform a Push-up

I reviewed a workout that I suggested in one of my previous posts.  I looked at how I described the exercises and found myself wondering, "How on earth did I pass first grade?"  My descriptions were pretty terrible, and I am sure they have resulted in mass chaos and possible injuries (which I claim no actual liability for).

This leads me to "Demonstrative Tuesday"...where I'll create a video of me showing you how to do an exercise.  Some of these exercises will seem simple, but not everybody (including me) is an expert.  In fact, people do exercises incorrectly every day - preventing them from gaining the full benefit from performing the exercise.

This week, it's an exercise near and dear to my heart, the push-up.  It's near and dear to my wife's heart, too, since she wants me to get a massive chest like the dude in the movie "Thor" or the other guy in the movie "Captain America".  However, as a person who's done tons of push-ups in the Army, P90X, the Insanity and RushFit, I feel somewhat qualified to demonstrate how to do them.  As it turns out - I need to do even more.

This is a little simplistic, so try not to laugh at me too hard!  (wow - my hair is getting THIN)

And hey - if you've got any requests for exercise demonstrations (as long as they're relevant to exercise and don't involve me leaping from great heights) - send them to me.  The likelihood is, if you have the question, so does somebody else.

A Salute to Brain-Dead Activity: Elliptical Machine Cardio

I do not like lines.  I hate them, in fact...and whatever I'm waiting for better be worth the wait.  This is a big reason why I cancelled my gym membership in 2001 and bought my own equipment.  That...plus I'm married and find no need to repel the masses of women that might be flirting with me at the gym.  Mostly it's the lines that I dislike.

Guess what?  Last year my wife signed our family up for the neighborhood YMCA.  I generally work out at the house, but on Sundays, the whole fam-damily heads to the Y for a workout.  I must admit, it's pretty cool.  We can put the kids in the day care center and workout with little to no line.  My tool of choice?  The Elliptical Trainer.

Yes - the elliptical machine is a little boring...it's the Toyota Prius of the health club world.  Don't be a hater - there's some cool stuff about ellipticals:

• Programs:  I absolutely love that I can select a program, e.g. Rolling Foothills, and a level, and the machine changes incline, resistance, etc.  With the variances in a hill program, you can go from struggling at 3mph to sprinting at 11mph.
• Synergistic:  If you're not cheating and holding onto the stationary bars, you can work out both your lower and upper body.  In fact, on the harder levels, you absolutely have to use the motion bars with your arms to help your legs.
• Self-contained:  You don't have to worry about balance, impact, bumping into people, getting run over by a car, getting bit by a snake, stepping on your dog's foot, etc.  You can literally close your eyes and crank up the "Kid Rock" MP3s (because that's how I roll) and go for it.

Unless you're one of the poor bastards stuck on the elliptical machines next to me, there are no real negatives.  Frankly, it's kind of nice to get my heart rate up without uber-focus required on my normal workouts.  It's the workout equivalent to watching a Bruce Willis movie - turn off your brain and go.

Argh! My Alarm Didn't Go Off!

The only problem with working out in the morning is waking up.  In fact, for me the HARDEST part of morning workouts is getting up at 4:50am.  Why 4:50am?  I need:

1. Time to quietly find my shoes and socks
2. Time to let Dennis (our dog) out
3. Time to quietly stumble to the bathroom
4. Time to get the extremely f****ng slow blu-ray player started
5. Time to do the workout
6. Time to shower

All of this must be done before my kids wake up at 6:30am.  I have to be quiet otherwise the kids wake up.  I have to do most things in the dark otherwise the kids wake up (yes, their doors are closed).  I have to keep the volume down on the blu-ray otherwise the kids wake up.  Can you take a guess as to what unpredictable variable I have to be extremely cognizant of?

Today, my stinkin' alarm clock didn't go off, and I didn't wake up until 5:40am  Or maybe it did, and I turned it off without actually waking up.  Whatever.  I'm not here to cast blame (or accept responsibility as it turns out).  If I do not get this workout done in the morning, it is likely I will not get a chance to do it until after 9pm.  Aside from avoiding my little monsters, I have a number of reasons for working out right away in the morning (before eating):  

• Physiologically, working out on an empty stomach pulls energy directly from fat reserves within muscles (according to Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, published in 2008).  Since I'm still working on the 6-pack of rock-hard abs, this is important.
• Productivity at work goes up - this is not just my perception, there have been studies (e.g. 'Exercising at work and self-reported work performance' from Carnegie) which show that incorporating exercise into your work day enhances focus and calm and improves performance.
• If the rest of my day goes to sh*t - at least I got my exercise in.  This is just common sense.

If you are used to exercising in the afternoon or evening, exercising in the morning is quite a bit more efficient.  Personally, I feel like I can accomplish in 30 minutes in the morning what it would take me 60 minutes later in the day (I'm sure there is data to support this - I just didn't feel like looking for it).  You should, however, be aware that exercise is much more difficult in the morning; your runs may be slower than you are used to, you may not be able to lift as much weight or do as many reps, etc.  You are also limited in how much exercise you can do before running out of energy; it may be wise to limit your workouts at first.

Now, if I can just remember where that damned alarm clock went...

Fitness PM Thursday: Setting Goals...and getting my ass kicked by my old man

In real life, I am a project manager.  In fact, I have a Project Management Professional (PMP) (TM) Certfication.  Yes, that is a sexy title.  No, it doesn't bring in as many groupies as you'd think.  In my feeble mind, the worlds of project management apply very well to fitness.  So well, in fact, that I am creating a weekly feature entitled Fitness PM Thursday.

My goal for Fitness PM Thursday is to introduce a relevant concept from the field of Project Management and demonstrate how it can apply to fitness.  Yes, the nerds have a voice in my blog!

Now - today's topic...when I was a teenager, my dad would occasionally tell stories about his time in the Marine Corps.  One of the stories that sticks with me to this day was about some sort of pissing contest he got into with one of his buddies.  Evidently, my dad and this guy were 1-2 when it came to all of the physical fitness tests in their platoon.  After "beating" his friend in the run and push-ups, their platoon's next exercise in the test was the pull-up.

Do you know what a pull-up is?  The standard pull-up is performed with both hands grasping an overhead bar, palms away from you and hands shoulder-width apart.  Starting from a fully-extended arm position, you pull your body up into the air until your chin is above the bar...then lower yourself back down until your arms are fully-extended (straight) again.  Pull-ups are no joke.

Back to the story - my dad's friend's turn to do pull-ups arrived.  He cranked out 45 pull-ups...but he really strained on the last few.  My dad had NO CHOICE but to ". . .whip out 45 pull-ups. . ." as well, and then he pretended to strain for the last one and STOPPED at 46 pull-ups.  How charitable of him!

Now, this all happened sometime between 1957 and 1961 - well before I was born.  I have some doubts, yet I have seen my dad demonstrate several feats of strength which I would not be able to do myself.  The old man is strong as a freaking ox, but 46 pull-ups?  This number has been driving me nuts for 25 years.  I have not reached 46 pull-ups yet.  I am not close.  However, I have increased my number of pull-ups significantly in the last three years, and for me, goal-setting is the key.

As a project manager who is tasked with showing results, I do a lot of goal setting - it's part of a concept called "Management by Objectives" where employees have a say in the results of the company (first coined by Peter Drucker in the '50's).  In my mine, this applies directly to fitness, and I (and most others at our company) utilize the following guidelines for setting a goal - you just need to remember the acronym SMART:

• S - Specific:  Make sure that the goal you are setting is specific, i.e. it is easy to tell what you are "producing".  In my case, my goal is about doing a larger number of pull-ups.
• M - Measurable:  There is a quantifiable, inarguable success indicator.  In most cases, this is a number.  46 seems like a pretty good (but pretty f'ing high) number.
• A - Attainable:  The goal can be reasonably accomplished (aka "passing the snicker test") from your current situation and anything less would not meet the goal.  46 is a ton of pull-ups...how about 20?  Or how about 10?
• R - Relevant:  Is this in your business (in this case, getting fit) goals?  Will doing a sh*tload of pull-ups make you a better marathon runner?  Will doing a bunch of pull-up give you better back, shoulder and neck strength?
• T - Time-based:  The completion date is clear.  "Before I die" is not a good example.  "Before my reunion on September 15th, 2011" is a  good example.

To me, ensuring my goal is attainable from my present situation is the key.  So, based on all of this, here's my intermediate goal for pull-ups:

• I will do a set of 30 standard pull-ups by December 31st, 2011.

This is a challenging but (hopefully) reachable goal for me.  You can apply this method to pretty much any diet or fitness goal - but remember - you really need to measure where you are at before you set goals.  So, whether my Dad's pull-up record is true or not (I think it is), that number has been nagging at me for years.  I hope he's still around when I finally get to 47 pull-ups!

PS - I would like to give credit where it is due - while I won't share resources from inside our company, you can find more globally accessible information about goal-setting and SMART at this link.

On the Road Again

Travelling is a must for this regular guy, either for work or just for fun.  Even though I might be stuck in a hotel, a tent, or maybe my parent's house, there are still a ton of ways to get a rigorous (and fast) workout in. 

Equipment:

I generally travel light, but i have a few favorite pieces of equipment which i like to bring with me on the road:

• I always have room for resistance bands.  You can get resistance bands in a variety of sizes; I have a small bag in which I carry bands from 5-20 lbs of resistance (the brand is Go-Fit).  The really cool thing about resistance bands is that the farther they stretch,  the higher their resistance.  
• I love bringing a jump rope...you can get some high intensity cardio from jumping rope. 
• Running or other workout shoes.  Duh.
• Under Armour or some other clothing that dries out... so I'm not stuck bringing home a disgustingly wet set of workout clothes.

I have also improvised and used gallon jugs of water, rocks or furniture for weight when resistance bands were not appropriate for a particular exercise (e.g. trunk rotations).  What are some must have pieces of equipment you have used for working out on the road?

Workouts:
If you're like me and aren't a big fan of hotel gyms, or you are in a place that does not have a gym, you can still get a great workout without waking the neighbors.  Since my core always needs work, here's a great workout that scares away the jet lag (including a wordy description of each exercise):

• Standard pushups:  Start from the "front-leaning rest position" - hands shoulder width apart, back and legs straight.  Go down until your upper arm is parallel with the ground, then push up until arms completely extended.
• Standard lunges:  Start with feet together.  Step forward with one leg and lunge until your front thigh is parallel with the ground.  Make sure your front knee is directly over your front foot as you lower yourself down.  Use your front leg to push  yourself back to the start position.  Now repeat above with the other leg.
• Banana rolls:  Lie down on your back, and lift your legs 6" off of the ground and your arms , above your head and about 6" off of the ground.  Stay in this position for 5 seconds, then roll to your left side (still with arms and legs off of the ground).  Hold again for 5 seconds and roll to your stomach (keep those arms and legs up!).  Hold for 5 seconds and roll to your right side (arms and legs still up!).  Hold for 5 seconds and roll to your back (arms and legs still up!).  Repeat going in the opposite direction...keeping your arms and legs suspended the entire time.
• Wide arm pushups:  Same as the standard pushup, but make sure your hands are much farther apart than shoulder-width.
• Reverse lunges:  Similar to the standard lunge, but you step BACKWARD instead of forward.  As you step back to the start position, you can raise your knee to increase intensity)
• Leg raises:  Lay flat on your back, legs straight.  Lift your legs up so that your body is at a 90 degree angle.  Lower your legs until your feet almost touch the floor and repreat. 
• Combined push up / side plank:  Use the same position as for the Standard Pushup, however keep your feet separated slightly.  Do a pushup; at the top of the pushup, turn your back toward your lright arm as you reach your left hand to the sky; you will need to pivot your feet.  Hold this position for 5 seconds and then lower your hand to the ground.  Repeat pushup and side plank for your right arm.
• Steam engine:  In a standing position, put your hands behind your head.  Raise your right leg up and touch your left elbow to your right knee.  Alternate legs.
• Alternating side to side lunges:  Start in the standing position, feet together.  Step with your right leg directly to the side and lunge downward until your thigh is parallel to the ground.  Stand
• Squats: Start in the standing position, feet shoulder width apart.  Keep your back as straight as possible while squatting down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.  Stand up straight again and repeat.

To make things simple, do an exercise for one minute, rest no more than twenty seconds, and move to the next exercise. Repeat the whole series and really bust your ass.  I picked these exercises because they are simple, low impact and don't require a lot of room.  If this gets too easy, try each exercise for two minutes.

Who knows?  Instead of growing a spare tire on your boondoggles, you may end up with buff arms and tight abs... 

"Core" .... What the hell is it and why is it important?

One of the most cliche things that I hear people say is that "You need to strengthen your CORE" or "That's really good for your CORE" or "blah blah blah frigging CORE".  Part of me wants to say "thanks" and that OTHER part of me wants to say "do YOU know what a CORE is?"

Oversimplified, your Core is the band of muscles from your knees up through your shoulders, front and back.  Wikipedia's definition of Core reads, ". . . major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back (not the shoulders), and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck. . .".  The Core is used to balance and stabilize your body. Frankly, if you do any sort of real work using your body, you are depending on your Core.  Seems pretty darned important, doesn't it?

So if your Core is used in every real physical activity we do, how the heck does it get so out of shape? 
Wow...tough question.  My hypothesis is that most people exercise to either focus on one body part (e.g. Doing bench press or flies) or they focus on one specific cardio activity (e.g. Running) and forget about Core.  That can make you more injury prone...which will take you OUT of commission.   If you work on your Core, you will reduce the likelihood of injuries when you get into the real world.

What are some simple exercises which can improve my core?
There is a question I can answer!  If I had to name the most useful exercises for improving my Core (and frankly, reducing my waistline) , three exercises spring to mind:
*  Pushups:  There not just for "Grunts" any more.  In general they are good for your chest, shoulders and triceps, but to do effective pushups you need to keep your abs and buttocks TIGHT.  There are a zillion variations of pushups, including side-planks, which are great for tightening and reducing those love handles.
*  Lunges:  I love lunges. Forward, backward, sideways, unweighted, weighted, you name it...these puppies are good for you.  Your butt, hamstrings, quads, loiter back and and will all get pressed into service when you do lunges.  Getting bored?  Try doing them on your tip toes...or try incorporating curls or shoulder presses...you'll find that your getting a pretty decent cardiovascular workout at the same time.
*  Isometric Ab exercises:  These are a little tougher for me to explain, but these are similar to the exercises you soul perform in a yoga class. Some good ones include Boat, Bow, Superman and Banana.  These require a lot of discipline, and you will really news to reach and/our squeeze to make them work.

Do you have any good Core exercises you would like to share?

So..next time you are out taking e leaves, carrying bricks, lifting children or even just setting the table, you can thank your Core for always being there.  And you can thank me ...by knocking out ten pushups!   And ten more for the CORE!

Getting back into it .. And it hurt like a b*tch

Well, it's been a long, hot, crappy summer here in Phoenix...and truth be told, I just haven't felt like working out.  I took the last three weeks off, but as a result...I felt myself getting crankier and crankier with people.  Further, I found myself being less productive and extremely unfocused.  Dammit, it was time to get off my ass and back to work!

I am curious...what sort of workouts do you use to get back into the swing of things?  When it's less hot, I like to go for a good run or rigorous hike on the local trail..either workout is pretty decent, and doesn't require a ton of equipment or time.  My problem was that, by the time I decided to work out, it was already more than 105 degrees.

I decided to do a workout video from the GSP Rush Fit workout series (will give you an official review later) entitled "Full Body Strength and Endurance".  I had done this video before, but I spent the last three weeks drinking beer and eating BBQ.  Guess what?  I can feel every muscle in my body...and they all feel kind of like they want to kick my ass.  Further, it actually hurt to sit on the toilet today...damned squats.  Guess what else?  The only way to make the soreness go away is to keep up with the program, stretch and eat right.  Duh.
What was the most ill-advised workout that you have done after a long layoff?