3 Tips for Winter Training
April 19, 2011
The winter months are upon us. The days are cooling down and the darkness lingers a lot longer. In some rare occurrences, it does actually get a bit wet in Perth. But that should not stop us from getting our daily dose of exercise.
Weather should not disrupt our training programs. Some may opt to head indoors to a sheltered place where they can sweat. Gyms do tend to fill up during the cold winter months.
Here are some tips to keep you exercising in the cold winter months.
Quick tip #1: Find a mobile personal ball buster – cough- personal trainer who can travel to where you are and train you whenever you need. This would certainly allow more variation to your training if your gym gets too packed during the winter months.
Quick Tip #2: Find a Personal Trainer with letters after their names. Some examples are Cert III, or Cert IV are the bare minimums. Others may be BSc, MSc in Sports Science or Human Movement, ASCA, ACE or CHEK.
Quick Tip #3: Look at yourself in the mirror and drink a cup of cement. What you feel is only a state of mind that is learned from a previous experience. Change the way you perceive the stimulus and you give yourself no reason to back out of your training program.
250 Jumps Plus 1km
April 17, 2011
Circuit for the Week
- 50 reps Double Leg Jump
- 200m Run
- Repeat 5 rounds
Jumps must be double feet over a bottle. Both feet must clear the bottle to be counted as a repetition. Jumps must land into the squat into the thighs and with both feet.
Run laps must be continuous and participants must touch the ground or marker.
Post times up here.
6-50+1.2km
April 13, 2011
50 Reps of 6 Exercises followed by 6x200m runs
- Squats
- Front Star Jumps
- Push Ups
- Pelvis Lifts with Extended Arms/Shoulder
- Crunches
- Back Extensions
Conditions for the workout:
For the Squats, the hips must come down below the knees. Arms across the chest.
For the Front Star Jumps, arms are lifted to shoulder height only. Alternate arms and alternate leg lunging as the arms are raised. Left and right are counted as 1 rep.
For the Push Ups, the chest must come down to the ground or shoulders level with the height of the elbow. A half push up on the knees can be an option upon fatigue. Everyone starts on the toes.
For the Pelvis Lifts, feet are hip width apart, slightly further in front of the knees, hips are lifted with the glutes until they are in line with the shoulders and the hips.
For the Crunches, hands on thighs, palms must reach to the top of the knees to count as 1 rep.
For the Back Extensions, slow movement only, palms on the side of the head, chest lifting off the ground.
For the laps, they will be only be counted if they touch the 20m markers. Strictly no turning before the marker and the lap is not counted if the participant does not touch the marker.
Exercises can be done in any order.
Best Exercise for Core Training
March 7, 2011
When you look at core training, it has to begin somewhere and there are 2 widely used exercises that will challenge the core.
First of all when we define core training, we are looking at engaging all the muscles around the core/trunk region. That means predominantly the transverse abdominus muscles which are the deep muscles that protect your spinal column. When you look at the meaning of core, that means deep muscle tissues and not the outer more superficial muscles that can be seen.
The main function of the Transverse Abdominals are to compress the stomach contents from the pelvis to the trunk. It is much easier to control and to engage with the exhalation of your breath. So to ensure the transverse abdominals are engaged, perform any power movements on exhalation.
Crunches and sit-ups will not engage the Transverse Abdominals. These exercises only work the Abs or “six-packs” that we are all obsessed with. Abdominal muscles are only superficial and engagement of these muscles will not mean that the Transverse Abdominals will be engaged.
The best exercise for core is the Plank which is to hold the torso as stiff as a plank whilst having your hands on the floor like the picture above. The focus of this exercise is to ensure that the mid-section “is” the focus. Breathing must be very shallow with no large expirations or inhalations. This will automatically disengage the core. The lower back must not be hyper-extended either. When it hyper-extends, more stress will be placed on the vertebrae of the spine and plus it will mean a dis-engaging of the core muscles too. Keep the spine natural and the pelvis slightly higher than neutral position.
Hold this plank for no more than 1 minute. When the focus of the exercise shifts from the core to the burning gluteus maximus muscles, the core has fatigued and the support of the glutes has taken over to lift the core off the floor.
Repeat this for about 4-5 repetitions.
Strengthen your core. Do a plank.
When Fabi Gets Tough
October 27, 2010
Muchos Congratulations to Faby T who braved yesterday mornings Park session. It was a gruelling Park Training Session that focused solely on one thing mental stamina.
Starting the Burn
The Reps were starting to Count Fabi
The Run Back
The Bright Sun in the Eyes
The recipe:
50 Squats plus 400m run
50 Burpees plus 400m run
50 Press Ups plus 400m run
50 Flutter Kicks plus 400m run
2 minute Plank plus 400m run
Total time: 27 minutes.
Awesome Workout Fabi, you did so well pushing yourself right through to the end. Hope you had a really good sleep and we will try this again in time.
Team Exfx
Protected: Books to Satisfy the Hunger
May 30, 2010
The Effects of Exercise
May 23, 2010
What can Exercise do for you? Well, get your pop corn and get ready for a long 3 hour epic. I won’t bore you with all the details, but because I am so passionate about it, I will scratch the surface a little bit for you.
Depending on your current situation, exercise will
- Reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis.
- Improves your cardiovascular fitness.
- Improves metabolism which will reduce your risk of being overweight.
- Increases endorphin release.
- Improve your productivity
This simple activity is becoming more and more scarce with the way our society is changing. We were designed to move, hunt and gather. Today we mostly sit, push buttons and walk to the supermarkets for our foods.
All the diseases mentioned in the first point are classed as diseases that can be prevented if we only changed our lifestyles. Sedentary-ness, malnutrition, lifestyle and sometimes genetics are possible factors of how we develop these dangerous and deadly diseases that are claiming many lives by the hour. All of which can be fixed with a little bit of a lifestyle adjustment and a bit of exercise.
The Department of Health has a Find Thirty Everyday campaign that recommends for a 30 minute activity everyday. In an attempt to get the public moving and more active again. The message is clear. We are not moving or getting active enough. But is it really enough to get us losing the weight? Probably not. But it is a good start.
Metabolism is a fantastic thing. It is the amount of energy needed to keep your body running or you alive. There are many factors that can affect your metabolism. Learn how to maximise your energy burning potential by raising your basal metabolic rate. I will cover this in another blog post later on down the track.
As a fitness professional, we have probably heard of the many excuses or barriers put up by folk who do not want to exercise. These may be because exercise is too hard to do, hurts too much, do not have time for it, it costs too much, the trainers yell too much, the exercises they make me do are too difficult and the best of the lot, just could not be bothered. These are all lame excuses. They do not work anymore and the only person you are kidding is yourself. Sedentary folk need to understand that there is a problem, realize that there is and take the appropriate action.
Everyone needs to exercise. No matter where you come from, what sort of lifestyle you may have, cut the ridiculous and get exercising.
Review of Vibram FiveFingers
May 11, 2010
A quick review on the FiveFinger shoes that arrived in the mail three weeks ago.
I have a rule against spending way too much money on shoes, but this was an exception. It was in line with my view of training without shoes on. These particular pair of shoes FiveFingers by Vibram has allowed the barefoot minority to explore even more activities available.
I tried running and jumping yesterday up Mount Street Kings park and today everything from knee down copped a feel of D.O.M.S. including the gastrocnemius, tibialis anteriors and plantar fascia. It may be a build up from the Leg training the leg before, but tibialis posterior also felt worked.
The freedom it allows is amazing. Being able to grip the terrain with your phalanges is something else extra. Traditional shoes have a large layer of cushioning on the sole of the shoes which does not allow too much force production from toe flexion. But in the case of the FiveFingers, more force generated from toe off improved stride length and also stride rate.
Looks wise, it is a very peculiar looking shoe and shaped like your foot, it will generate a lot of interest. There is not anything like it in the market at the moment.
Training and exercising with the FiveFingers is a different feeling altogether because you are able to connect with the floor and closed circuit training becomes a lot more ‘feelable’. Do ask your gym or centre if these shoes are allowed, because I have heard of certain centres who have restricted the use of these shoes on the premise that you could ‘injure your feet if you dropped some weights on your toes’. Poor excuse when you will injure anything if you drop any weight on your toes unless you are wearing steel caps.
I tried them on last week for Pilates and they were fantastic! Just like not wearing shoes. Not that I do my pilates with shoes on.
FiveFingers can also be used in outdoor training, rock-climbing, bushwalking, swimming, jogging, trekking and yoga.
Beautiful Pilates
April 16, 2010
Pilates, the art of exercise. If you have not tried it before, it will amaze you. The sheer beauty of the art will allow you to stretch and strengthen at the same time.
Pilates exercises are majestic, beautiful and graceful. All of which require a high degree of concentration to ensure the optimum benefit from each movement. The balance of muscle strengthening and stretching depends on the experience of the instructor and also the variations of the art from different schools of instruction.
At Exfx Fitness, we make sure that you will enter our classes feeling unbalanced and you will leave feeling straightened and energized. Our instructors are trained in the contemporary way that will focus very much on musculoskeletal balance.
Come on a journey without any pilates equipment as a start. Learn to enjoy simple movements in your body. Connect your mind with your body and feel what it really is like to move as one. Allow us unblock clogged energy pathways that you have unknowingly created with your lifestyle and your stature. When you are ready we have a whole array of foam rollers, toning balls and other pieces of equipment that will make the classes even more fun.
Your body needs to be reset into its natural and neutral posture. Like all machines, every now and again there needs to be a master reset to ensure longevity. The same goes for our bodies.
Increase your functional strength with an art that has been embraced by dancers, ballerinas and elite athletes alike.
Return your body to its natural state. Today.
Top 5 Reasons to Strength Train
March 22, 2010
1. Builds Muscle – Muscle is metabolically active tissue and is the most expensive tissue in the body to preserve.
2. Reduces risk of Osteoporosis – Weight loading will increase of bone density. The constant loading will stimulate bone cells to lay down more bone tissue which will prevent brittle bones.
3. Builds Confidence – The sense of achievement when you are able to move weight and be able to conduct certain activities without the fear of your muscles giving way will boost your confidence and give you a ‘Can-do’ attitude.
4. Increases Metabolism – Strength training increases your caloric burning capacity by up to four times after you have stopped weight training or cardiovascular training. Gilette et al (1994)
5. Enhances Functional Strength – Functional strength allows you to perform every day activities like lifting boxes of the ground, shelving boxes and pushing carts and trolleys. These daily activities will become much easier and also a lot more safer if functional strength is enhanced.
How much more reason do you need to exercise? The science is there, the research is there. The only thing that is not is your body. So it is time to get a move on and start lifting.
