Let's Go Heavy

So the past few days have been a cardio playground. Cranking up our heart rates and leaving us drenched in sweat by the end of the workouts. Today, I would like to take things to the muscular side of our body and really pump those bad boys up. So lets dig down and prepare to crank out some serious mass building exercises today.

1. Dead Lifts: 5 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 4)

2. Military Shoulder press: 5 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 4)

3. Incline Bench Press: 5 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 4)

4. Bent Over Barbell Rows: 5 sets (12, 10, 8, 6, 4)

5A. Shoulder Raises: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)
5B. Push-ups: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)

6A. Barbell Bicep Curl: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)
6B. Tricep Rope Extension: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)

7A. Good-Mornings: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)
7B.  Dips: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)

Pump Pump Pump Pump it up!!!

Red Blood Cells

Today my friends, we will be increasing the amount of red blood cells in our body. Awesome! This is important because red blood cells deliver oxygen to all of your organs. The more you have, the quicker and more efficiently oxygen gets delivered. This is important for athletes who want to go further and longer without fatiguing. They way you do this is by working your body so hard, and giving it such little oxygen, that it needs to produce more of these cells to adapt. This is why athletes engage in high altitude training by the way. So we will be doing this by firing up our Phosphogen systems.  AKA Sprinting!!!!

1. 20 minute bike ride - You should be able to go at least 6 miles in this time frame

2. Incline Sprints - do 5 of them for about 100 yards. I found a nearby parking garage and did them up the levels.

3. Flat Sprints - do 5 of them for about 100 yards. i did these on the roof of the parking garage.

4. 1 mile jog / sprint. - I did 5 laps of the parking garage. Sprint going North and South then jog going East and West. (Jog the curves Sprint the straights if you are on a track)

Use your environment here and be creative. Get it done and work hard. Give the sprints everything you have. Walk 1 - 2 minutes between each sprint.

Hard, Harder, Hardest, Impossible

Hello everyone! I hope you are all excited for a great new week of crushing workouts! This weekend was a bit of a gorge fest for me, consuming everything from deep dish pizza, to fudge, to cheese steaks, so it is time to turn all of that into dust. And how do you get dust? By igniting your body into a calorie burning machine using full body exercises at high pace! So lets get into it. By the way, the only way this work out stops is when you quit. See how far you can take it!

Complete the circuit, then rest. Do as many circuits as you can until you can't do anymore (due to time or exhaustion). Rest when you need to. 

1. Clean & Press - 10 reps (use 70% your max)

 - 20 crunches

2. Burpee to Pull-up - 10 reps

 - 20 leg lifts

3. Row Machine - 500 meters

 - 20 bicycle kicks

4. Squat Jumps - 15

I would expect each circuit round to take you 12 minutes. If you can do 5 then you have my approval. 

Have fun. 

Yoga Class

Ok, I am motivated now in an entirely different way. I saw Cirque Du Soleil last night.  It was incredible. But more than that it was completely motivating. My new goal, and I will achieve this by year end, is to dunk a basketball (I am 5 foot 10 inches) and to do a back flip (I am as flexible as a clay pot). Pretty lofty goals I know, but add it to the list of things. So, I have been doing some research this morning on how to train the body to do these things. First thing first, I need the flexibility. So time to hit the Yoga mats. Embarrassingly this will only be the third time this year I will be doing Yoga. No more! Now making this a weekly thing. If Yoga is not your thing, you can always do past workouts.  I will keep you posted on my progress! Hopefully post a video of both by years end!

LEGS!!!

Anyone see the German cyclist from the Olympics? You know, the one with the legs wider than your head torso?  Well here is the link:

http://929thebull.com/theres-a-german-olympic-cyclist-who-might-have-the-biggest-thighs-in-the-world/

Today we are using this fine gentleman as inspiration. We are going to be working our legs big time. I expect them to be so sore and jacked up that your will have trouble getting out of bed tomorrow. That's good right?  Well here it is, your get big workout. Because after all, legs being the biggest muscle in the body, everything else will benefit from a solid leg workout.

1. Leg Press: 2 sets (15, 15)

2. Squats: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)

3. Walking Lunges: 3 sets (10, 10, 10) 10 each leg - carry dumbbells

4. Squats: 3 sets (8, 8, 8)

5. Hamstring Curls: 3 sets (12, 12, 12)

6. Squats: 3 sets (6, 6, 6)

7. Jump Lunge to Jump Squat: 3 sets (each till failure)

Have Fun!

Crusade!

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's workout. Had me drenched in sweat withing 5 minutes.  Today we are going to do another similar workout. Focusing again on the cardio weights. Tomorrow we will be doing heavy legs and then Thursday Back and Chest, so get the most out of today. On paper it looks hard and fun. In reality, it is hard and fun.

* Preform the following circuit 3 times *

1. 1/2 mile run
2. 100 push-ups
3. 50 Standing Arnold Press (use 25 lb dumbbells)
4. 1000 meter row
5. 50 Dead Lift to Row (use 25 lb dumbbells)
6. 50 Squat Jumps
7. 1 mile bike ride

Have Fun!

Dude's are Crazy

So yesterday was a power house day of TV. The Olympics, Shark Week, Taboo and Football, were just some of the gems that were on. However, there was one program that ruled them all. And that my friends was the Cross Fit Championships. These guys were insane! They were completing exercises in same time that it would take a normal person to read the entire Harry Potter series. Ok bit exaggeration but only a little bit!  So today, we are going to be doing the same exercises they did. Only, not as intense, but still intense because we are just as tough... Right?

* Complete then move on. Rest when you need to.
* Do this circuit twice if you can

30 Pull-ups
30 Burpee
30 Squat and Raise
30 Box Jumps
30 Plank to Push-up
30 Shoulder Swing

Be strong, and remember, if anyone can do it, so can you!

Have Fun!

Run and Abs

So, how was the workout yesterday?  Pretty good, right?  Although, my legs are not as sore as I thought they would be, and that is great news.  Today, we are going to go for a nice long jog / run. Actually, if you have a bike, that would be great as well!  So there is nothing fancy today everyone. A nice 5 mile run followed by an ab routine. Check out the ab routine below.

Repeat this circuit 4 times (courtesy of mega meathead)

1. 30 bicycle kicks
2. 15 crunches
3. 15 sit-ups
4. 15 boxer crunches
5. 30 second plank / 30 second right side plank / 30 second left side plank

Just Try It

Ok, I literally dreamed about this one last night, and woke up totally excited. In theory it is flawless, but reality, it sounds kinda weird I guess, but oh well. It should still pack on the muscle and torch the fat. And why is that? Well, we are going to be doing  a whole lot of the best exercise out there, mixed in with a full chest routine. Lets have fun with this one.

Every time you see $$, then go do one set of squats. I would suggest starting off with 50% your max and adding 10 percent each chest exercise.  Hope this makes sense.

1. Incline Bench Press: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10)  50%

2. Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10)  60%

3. Cable Fly: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10)  70%

4. Flat Bench Press: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10)  80%

5. Flat Dumbbell Press: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10)  90%

6. Dips: 3 sets (10, $$, 10, $$, 10) 100%

7A. Push-ups: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1                      
7B. Body weight Squats: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
     * Alternate push-up to squat, back and forth *

Have fun! 

Cardio Legs

Yesterday's workout has left me feeling pretty huge. Probably the best feeling to have when starting off the week. But, no we need to shift our focus to the lower portion of our body. Time to crank up the intensity and hit our legs with relentless force. We are going for cardio legs today. Make sure to bring a towel and lots of water, the sweat will be pouring off of you in minutes.

1. 1 mile run

* complete the following super sets 2 times

2A. 10 Forward Jump Squats
2B. 10 Backward Jump Squats

3A. 10 Forward Lunges with a bounce (so technically 2 on each leg)
3B. 10 Backward Lunges with bounce

4A. 10 Side Lunges - one way
4B. 10 Side Lunges - the other way

5. 1 mile run

6A. 10 Jump Squats
6B. 10 Body Squats with single arm dumbbell toss

7A. 10 Get-ups
7B. 10 Sumo Squats

8A. 20 High Knee - to Kick - 10 each leg
8B. 20 Side leg kicks - 10 each leg
8C. 40 Butt Kickers - 20 each leg

9. 1 mile run (this will most likely be a painful jog)

FEEL THE BURN!

BIG 3 then SMALL 3

Ok, fun weekend, lots of activity. However, there was no time to get big! It was all filled with cardio activities and fat burning games. My muscles are just crying for some action! So, I am going to give it to them. And I am going to do it with only 6 exercises. Targeting everything but the legs and chest, since we will be doing them tomorrow haha. I hope you enjoy this unconventional workout.

1. Dead Lifts: 6 sets (12, 8, 6, 6, 8, 12)

2. Pull-ups: 6 sets (12, 8, 6, 6, 8, 12) - use lat pull down machine at the end if you need to

3. Military Shoulder Press: 6 sets (12, 8, 6, 6, 8, 12)

4. Triceps Extensions: 6 sets (12, 8, 6, 6, 8, 12)

5. Bicep Curls: 6 sets (12, 8, 6, 6, 8, 12)

6A. Calve Raise: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)
6B. Shoulder Shrugs: 3 sets (10, 10, 10)

Have fun getting BIG

Heavy Chest

Meathead kinda day. No messing around here, just straight up chest. It has been a while since we completely obliterated it so this should be fun.

1. Bench Press: 4 sets (12, 12, 10, 8)

2. Incline Bench Press: 4 sets (12, 12, 10, 8)

3. Cable Fly: 3 sets (12, 12, 12)

4A. Bench Press: 3 sets (6, 6, 6)
4B. Push-ups: 3 sets (15, 15, 15)

5A. Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets (6, 6, 6)
5B. Push-ups: 3 sets (6, 6, 6)

6. Dips: 4 sets (10, 10, 10, 10)

7. Cable Fly: 3 sets (12, 12, 12)

DONE!