Interval Runs and Brisk Walks

 A nice cardio combo for me in the past few weeks has been combining interval runs in the afternoon, with a brisk walk the next morning.  I had to go back to my initial running days when I was training for my first 10K and did longer runs on Sunday mornings, followed by a nice 9 hole walk on the golf course.  The walking sure seemed to help loosen my legs up and I'd be less sore the next day.

Now that I'm back into more frequent runs during the week, I am sore in the morning but find that a brisk early morning walk, soon after I wake up, helps my legs out and gets my mind going as well. 

The longer walks can sure aid in adding more cardio to your week.  Even three walks a week for 30 minutes a time helps me burn another 900 calories that week, without 'killing' my body.  

I know lot of trainers are not huge fans of walking, running, and other methods of 'long, slow cardio'.  The argument is that its not a really a huge fat burner.  Well, yes, its not a huge fat burner, but it still burns up some calories for you and when added to a routine, they are simple workouts to do almost any time. Pretty much anyone can get outside and go for a walk when the weather is right.  If you can get your body moving, it is always a better option than sitting around and doing nothing.

To me, running is King when it comes to calories burning per minute. Cycling is another nice low-impact option that burns up calories too.  Walking is an easy addition if you're looking for a really low impact way to add some cardio sessions.  It is good to add some variety from higher intense exercise to lower intense exercise.  

Looking for more exercise tips?  Find a lot of them in my guide, Fit XT: Solutions That Work, sold on Kindle!

Stay Strong,

Coach Rick

Kettlebell Swings: A Primer

 Recently I had a comment on how to add Kettlebell Swings to a routine.

Here is what I added for the female who asked about it:

start out with 10-15 pounds to practice the movement and get it down. There are some that argue about how high to go on the swing, I feel you get what you need by swinging to about chest height and back down again. I don't see a benefit for the above the head motion.

I feel most can do 10-15# to start with and get 10-20 good reps in. As you gain experience with the exercise, you can add more reps as you go. I've been doing KB swings since 2005 so my endurance is up there for higher reps and switching sides (10 per side x 5 rounds of it is 100 reps for me in my workouts.) I would build up on 10-20 reps to start, taking rests as you feel you need them. 20 reps can usually be done just over 30 seconds of time. Take longer rests if you need them.

With starting out on kettlebell swings, a lot of trainers teach the two-handed swing first to get the basics of the action down.

Squat down to grab the KB with both hands, keeping the back straight and pushing the hips back, feet should be about shoulder width apart. 

Start the action by rocking the KB forward a little, then letting it swing between your legs. As it reaches its end point, drive the hips forward and extend the hips and knees so your body comes to a straight line.  The KB will raise up naturally to about chest height at the end of the swing. Once it reaches its high point, squat back down and let the KB fall back between your legs again.  You can keep this pendulum action going for 10-20 reps like I mentioned above.  

You can also do a one handed swing version and switch hands at the top of the swing, bringing both hands to chest height (one with the KB, the other without) and have both palms facing each other.  This allows you to transition the bell easier to the other hand at the top of the swing.  I like to switch hands every 10 swings as I do my sets of 100.  It gives each side a small rest between the sets of 10.  Practice the movement from hand to hand to get the transition down.  

One thing to mention is to keep the arms straight, thinking of them like a rope that keeps tight throughout the swing.  You don't want the rope to 'slack' as you swing.  

It has been a while since I've done a video on KB swings, so perhaps I'll get one made soon to demonstrate this basic exercise that has a bunch of cardio and fat burning benefits!

Stay strong,

Coach Rick

Weekend Workouts and Another Week Ahead

 This past weekend was a good one to get some swings in for a workout on Saturday, plus a nice afternoon for a run on Sunday.  Saturday's routine was a 400 swings workout with the 45 pound kettlebell.  I went every 4 minutes with it for 100 reps per set.  Sunday's run went very, very well for me.  I felt better where I could keep up my running with less 1 minute walks, testing myself out and going as long as a 17 minute stretch between my 2nd and 3rd walking break.  Temps were cool but not too bad with a long sleeve shirt and a hoodie, keeping my hood up since the wind was chilling me a bit.  I went for a full 30 minute session with only 4, 1 minute breaks of walking.  I haven't done that in a long, long time, and I feel my medication effects aren't so limiting any more.  This is hopeful for me, as I'd like to get back to doing a 5K here and there this summer and enjoying them again. 

I used to run a lot of 5K's in my 30's but got into putting on 5K's as a small town race director.  It was fun to do but also time-demanding to organize in my spare time.  I did enjoy the friendships I developed though with local runners in the region around me, getting to know many runners of all ages.  I took a long break from running after I gave up the timing and directing part, and I'm glad I'm back into running more often now.  The weather should be really nice in the coming weeks to get back into more of a regular running pattern.  I am adding some morning walks lately, as I did a 30 minute brisk walk this morning as one more way to boost my cardio a bit.  It also works as a nice recovery walk from a hard run the day before. 

Stay Strong,

Coach Rick

Total Gym Routines Rock!

 When I moved in 2019, I sold a lot of at home fitness equipment as I had to downsize a bit.  Locally I hit the garage sales and found a fairly nice condition Total Gym unit.  I picked it up for $40 and took it home, later finding out that it was about a $700 unit brand new!  I took home a lot of attachments and it still had the workout videos in VHS and DVD formats.  

I had one in the past and enjoyed the quick circuit nature of it.  I've added it to my current program now to do a nice upper body circuit.

The circuit goes like this:

Chest Press

Low Pulley Rows

Pullover with Ab Crunch

Bicep Curls

Tricep Pushdowns

I do a 20 minute circuit of this, with 4 minutes on each exercise working in a 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest pattern.  I'm getting about 12 reps on each 30s work set, with the exception of pullover crunches where I get about 10.  

My resistance level goes from 1 to 6, and I'm at a 4 level for all these exercises to keep it simple and quicker. The higher levels are a higher percentage of your body weight.  

I also like this workout because its on a nice, quiet machine and I can do it in the mornings without bothering the neighbors in my apartment.  

If you're able to find a used Total Gym and have room for it, I suggest getting one for its versatility in exercises you can do and set up rather quickly. 

Stay Strong!

Coach Rick

The Fitmosphere Trainer

Kindle Guides To Move You!

 I have recently added my past workout guides I made for Kindle readers and apps.  Some of them I used to sell as part of an e-book package, however when Kindle publishing came out, I found it better to sell my workout plans and guidebooks through that platform.  

I've also made some new additions in the past few years and will look at adding more new ones soon.

One of my best selling ones has been "Just Swing It!", a guide on doing the 10,000 kettlebell swing challenge.  I found unique ways to change up the swing workouts to get in 10,000 swings safely and effectively as you get used to doing them on a repeated basis.  "JSI" has been #1 in my overall sales through the years. 

Tagging along side JSI is Kettlebell XL, which offers even more swing workouts to do.it is a nice sequel to JSI if you have great success with the 10K swings challenge.

"Fit XT: Indestructible!" is a great guide that follows the classic training program, one that's never left the weight room in high schools and colleges.  I'm still trying to find its origins, but in every weight room I've been a part of, this program has stood the test of time. 

My most recent guide book has been Fit XT: Solutions That Work.  Back in my recruiting days for a college, I found a lot of handy tricks on the road to get in workouts and better nutrition as well.  If you are on a budget and short on space, this is a the workout guide for you!

A lot of these are short, quick reads and handy to have on hand for finding unique brief workouts to fit into your own personal solutions.  Many cost less than some cups of coffee!  

Enjoy!

Coach Rick

The Fitmosphere Trainer

New Phase Week 2 Updates

 I had a decent week last week of workouts and dieting, and this week has gone well too.  I have added more workouts on the Total Gym and also with outdoor cardio.  The outdoor sessions have been mainly early morning brisk walks and after-work runs when its nicer out.  

Years ago I never saw myself doing a morning walk for exercise, mainly because I saw running as a better cardio choice for my available time.  Since I'm not so busy as I once was back then, the morning time becomes a nice choice for a brisk walk to jumpstart the day and not feel too fatigued afterwards.  

Its a pretty simple workout: walk briskly for 15 minutes and turn around and come back on the same route.  I play my podcasts or listen to the radio on my phone's FM radio app and catch up on the news as I'm walking.  Most days when I walk, I'll be out around 5am so I have a headlamp on me for better vision and for safety as well.  As summer gets closer, I'm sure i'll be seeing more sunrises around that time.  

The Total Gym workouts have been a nice change for circuits.  I'm starting out with 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest x 4 for each exercise.  Chest Press, Low Rows, Pullover Crunches, Bicep Curls and Tricep Pushdowns round out my circuit.  Its done in 20 minutes and ends up being a nice upper body session. 

The weight has been staying steady around 213 and 214, so I can't complain too much.  I am feeling lighter and moving a lot easier in my day to day activities at work.  

New Week, New Phase

 Greetings,

I reached the end of three months of doing the 5-3-1 program in increasing my Military Press numbers.  I went from a 120 estimated max to a 140 estimated max over that course of time.  120 to 130, 130 to 135, and 135 to 140 in each phase. 

I'm taking a break from that to focus more on some fat loss and overall weight loss.  I plan to incorporate more cardio sessions daily and maybe even two in a day, with an early morning session and an after work one if weather is ideal for it.  

My strength training will be more of a maintenance focus, trying to keep my strength up as I add on more of a cardio base over the next couple of months.  As the weather is improving and really getting nice out (we were near 60 today and forecasting 70's until Friday), more cardio sessions will be called upon. 

Today with a time crunch I did some condensed kettlebell swings, doing 100 every 3:30 to get in 300 in just about 10 minutes of time total. 

I've been doing some reading on weighted rucks, basically wearing a backpack with added weight for a cardio session of walking.  I feel it would be a great way to train for hiking adventures in local parks and state parks I plan to visit this camping season.  Those might be a nice morning session to do before work and leave a hard intense run planned for the afternoon. 

The dieting is still going well, feasting a bit on Easter Sunday but it was worth doing.  It didn't affect me much since I got in a run on Saturday morning and a nice long walk in the afternoon, getting about 2.5 miles on the run and 4 miles on the walk.   A nice rest day and day of eating really good food was a nice reward.

Progress is Progress, Keep Forging Ahead

 Greetings all,

It has been a good week for workouts, mainly doing my swings with Wednesday being a day off from them.  Did some clean and jerks with the 40# kettlebell on Monday, 300 swings on Tuesday with the 45'er. Wednesday was off, Thursday was 300 with the 45 and this morning was 400 with the 45.  I can feel my 'power' returning on doing swings so often the last month or so.  The weather should be turning around here for the better, as we have temps in the 50's this weekend and we might hit the 70's on Tuesday.  That's shorts weather for a  few prime time runs!

I also hit a nice milestone today with getting down to 213.  At this point almost every pound lost is a nice little victory on the journey.  

My Plexus products are still helping me out greatly.  Digestion feels great for a change and i'm not as 'blah' as I was a few months ago.   I like the Slim Hunger Control drink in the mornings as it really keeps my morning cravings at bay.  Having given up pop for Lent, I really don't feel the rush to go back to that.  Have it as a treat but not as an everyday crutch for energy needs. 

On the training side of things, I am looking at making a guide full of short, brief workouts at home to do. I've had to rely on short workout structures for quite a while, especially back in my coaching days of working early in the morning and coaching in the late afternoons and evenings, squeezing workouts in between those two things. Look for this guide to be sold on either Amazon Kindle or as a standalone e-book. 

Keep up the progress you are making individually.  If you need assistance with dieting and becoming more aware of what you're taking in each day and week, I highly suggest using the free app of MyFitnessPal.  It has really aided the progress I've been having and its a great motivator on its own. 

Stay strong!  - Coach Rick

Halfway to the Goal

 Last week was a good week of training and dieting again.  I finished up Week 3 of my 5-3-1 program, getting up to a 140 max estimate on the military press.  The weather was nice on Sunday to head out for a solid run, going for a good half-hour of intervals.  I did 90 seconds run, 60 seconds walk x 12 rounds.  On those interval runs, I'll head out and switch back halfway to return back in roughly the same time. We had some pretty cold weather last week, so a lot of my cardio was doing more kettlebell swings.  Those are getting smoother and steadier to keep doing, I can feel the power coming back to me in each workout. 

Dieting went well too, as the daily tracking of calories with MyFitnessPal is really helping me keep a good handle on the diet.  I can enjoy some things but keep the snacks in check or in much smaller servings than before. I hit a good halfway point on the weight loss goals, getting closer and closer to 200 pounds. 

The Plexus products are still helping me with the diet and weight loss goals.  It has been a steady process since I started.  I look back at the month of March and what a difference it is from February til now! I'm moving more, working out more often than before, and feeling lighter as I do it. 

I see the weather should start improving again by the end of the week, and forecasts finally have it going into the 50's next week.  That should make it really nice to get more outdoor activities in, maybe even some bike rides soon.  Looking forward to that happening soon, especially getting on some bike trails once they have the snow melting off of them.