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Flexibility/Recovery Motivational Personal Development Strength Training

Brick Foundation for Strength Training

Last night we got to do barbell bench presses and I remembered my first time doing them- again an intimidating exercise when it’s new. Historically these have a very masculine appeal and are not very ladylike. So the first time I did them I looked at the bar over my head and had a little chat with it making a deal that I would guide it down nice and steady to my sternum and that its job was to return safely back to the rack on my exhale. Just using the bar seemed like a big deal, almost suffocating in a certain way. Well here I am into my 2nd year of bench pressing and without hesitation I load up the bar and do some reps. (I still have my little chat with each set, just so we know we are on the same page.) It’s fun; it’s challenging; I’m sweating, and maybe even a little grunt escapes from my chest on the final rep. But I still remember when it was just the bar and how heavy that was at the time. It wasn’t just that it was heavy- it was that it was new and unfamiliar- my body didn’t really have a script for that movement. The closest thing might have been tossing my son up into the air with a giggle and catching him on the way down when he was a toddler, but I probably stopped doing that long before he was 45 pounds, and that was nearly 20 years ago. So the foundation was weak or nonexistent, but now, over time, brick by brick, I’ve built a solid foundation and can set the barbell moving without delay.

It’s good to remember this progression when it comes to exercise and strength training. Each movement no matter how small is another brick in the foundation of our strength. I often hear people lamenting their modifications during a new exercise or while recovering from an injury, a break, or illness. “I hate that I can’t do a full lunge, squat, jump, curl, press, etc.” I remind them how important this time is for their bodies and for learning or relearning a movement, to get programmed and to create proper form for safety and longevity. Each modified curl is still a curl. The smaller or more basic the move, the better we are creating proper form, and training our bodies so we can add complexity, increase range of motion, and add weight to our lifts as we progress.

It’s important to do what we can and recognize our own biomechanics. This might change from day to day- our hip flexors might be tight one day and another we are able to drop into a deep squat. When we modify a movement to adjust for these changes we leave judgement at the door and celebrate our self-knowledge, exercise safely and get a more effective workout.

When modifying, use the cues from the instructors and think about the purpose of the exercise and what movement patterns are included. Choose a modification that addresses the same muscle group and works toward this same purpose. When you are ready to add a challenge you can choose to increase your efforts when it feels right.

My challenge to you this week is not to see a modified exercise as “less than” but rather as its own valuable movement. We are layering our foundation of strength- brick by brick.

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Uncategorized

New Workouts, Better Progress

This week on our walk around Beauchamp Point in Rockport, I pointed out to Hunter that the wind was coming from the south. This southerly breeze is a tell-tale sign of summer coming. As a sailor this is a welcomed change, one that brings new opportunities and new activities for the months ahead. This change in my routine keeps me engaged, challenges me, and is exciting! You might have noticed that we changed routines at the gym this week too.

One of the luxuries of going to a gym that offers group classes is the advanced programming. I love not having to think about my workout routine. I never have to walk in to Hybrid Fitness, look at the weight room and say, “What am I going to do today?” At Hybrid we have a team of trainers who puts together our workouts for us. Thank you!

Improving our fitness and gaining strength both come from a consistent routine. Our muscles adapt as we challenge them, whether that is through heavier load, higher reps, or faster cardio, and this is where we get stronger. But we cannot achieve these gains by doing the same thing at every workout. Switching to a lighter load, fewer reps, or a change of movement overall is necessary at certain times. Just when you were used to last month’s routine, we mixed it up on you, didn’t we?

Why do we do this?

  • Build new muscles:

Recreational exercisers (that’s us), can build a little bit of everything and be physically ready for anything. Rather than training only one part of our body we can share the love and build powerful legs, a strong upper body, and our endurance through a variety of exercises.

  • Move off the Plateau

My favorite reason for change is avoiding the plateau. Once we do something over and over our bodies get very efficient at it and we eventually adapt, which means burning fewer calories and not experiencing strength gain. Mixing in new movements makes us work harder and progress more.

  • Prevent overuse injury:

When we do something over and over we are more likely to experience a repetitive strain injury. Changing it up, gives our joints, muscles, and connective tissue a chance to rest. We are training for life, and this is why we want to have a well rounded training program. We do not need to over-emphasize any specific muscle as though we are an Olympic shot-put champion.

  • Prevent boredom:

This one is obvious, but important. If we aren’t having fun, or feeling challenged, we will lose interest. Mixing it up keeps us coming back for more!

With our Hybrid workouts we go from high volume and low intensity to develop our foundation and build our muscles, and then we progress to low volume, high intensity where we are reaching our top performance in those movements. As we hit that peak we move on to other movements and develop a new muscle group. Through these cycles we are reaping the benefits of our hard work, and as clients, we don’t have to give it a second thought. Workouts that have their own winds of change~ What a luxury!

Categories
Exercise Tutorials HIIT Uncategorized

Burn Fat and Improve Muscle Endurance

In this video, Hunter Grindle of Hybrid Fitness Systems walks you through a Cardio Circuit (No Running Involved) to help you improve your muscular endurance and burn fat.

In this workout, there are 2 exercises:

1. Kettlebell Swing
2. Seal Jumping Jacks

For Kettlebell Swings, use sets of 15 reps.
For Seal Jumping Jacks, use sets of 25 reps.

Do a total of 3 sets, and take 30 seconds rest in between sets!

Make sure to Like, Comment and Subscribe!

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Exercise Tutorials Strength Training Uncategorized

Prevent Injury In the Shoulder Press With These 3 Tips

In this video, Hunter Grindle goes over several tweaks you can make to your shoulder press form to prevent injury and make your shoulder press more efficient!

Categories
Exercise Tutorials Strength Training Uncategorized

Bar Position In The Bench Press

In this video, I talk about where to position the barbell in the bench press movement.

There a lot of different variations of the bench press, but some put more strain on the shoulders (especially the rotator cuff). If your main goal is to gain strength, then you will want to make sure you position the bar closer to the bottom of your chest.

This will allow more muscles to be worked, and will help you lift more weight.

You can apply this to your pushups too… just move your hands down, closer to the bottom of your chest, and you will feel that the movement works a lot of different muscles.

This will make the pushups harder, but you can adjust to this by moving your legs in, or even going on your knees. From there, you can steadily progress to a full pushup.

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Nutrition Uncategorized

12 Ways to Eat Salsa Without Chips

If you’re anything like me… you LOVE salsa and chips… but we all know that chips aren’t the healthiest. So, here are 12 healthy alternatives to chips, tasty are not, that you can try for yourself! Enjoy!

1. Fennel Anise Bulbs

Fenouil Bulb

These watery bulbs make a great replacement for chips when it comes to enjoying some delicious salsa. They are low in calories, high in potassium, and high in folic acid, which helps maintain healthy blood and a healthy immune system. Their texture is crunchy, and slightly sweet, so this isn’t just a healthy alternative… it’s a tasty one too!

2. Belgium Endive Leaves

Endive Leaves

Crunchy with a slightly bitter taste, endive leaves are a very low-calorie alternative that is a great source of B-Complex Vitamins as well as minerals.

3. Carrots

Carrots

Although carrots are crunchy and healthier than chips, these aren’t the best tasting with salsa in my opinion. However, they are extremely cheap and quick to grab, so that is why carrots made the list.

4. Slices of Bell Peppers

Red Bell Pepper

Bell Peppers, with their tangy taste and crunchy texture, are an excellent alternative to chips. They contain high amounts phytonutrients, which help fight off free radicals. Green and purple peppers tend to be more bitter than red, orange and yellows, which can be sweet and even fruity.

5. Sliced Chicken

Sliced Chicken

Imagine a chicken quesadilla without the tortilla. That’s what your getting with this option (my personal favorite). Chicken is one of the leanest meat sources out there, and packs a lot of protein to help maintain muscle mass and curb your appetite! Although it’s higher in calories than the other options, it is made up by it’s high nutrition value!

6. Romaine

Romaine

Surprisingly enough, romaine is 17% protein, contains more Vitamin A than a carrot, and provides calcium as well as Vitamin K.The closer to the stalk you get, the the crisper the lettuce is and makes for a much better “chip”.