Designing Your Own Training Routines Part One

I bought a new DVD Training and Program Design with the BOSU Balance Trainer and did a weight lifting workout yesterday of my own design. I incorporated a lot of Power 90X exercises and performed an approximately 1 hour workout. I started with a warm up including jogging in place and stretching. Then I did legs including squats, wall squats, one leg wall squats, three way lunges, and three way calf raises (and on the Bosu these are killer). Then I did two versions of pull ups and push ups, back rows, chest presses, chest flyes, bicep curls, isolated curls, hammer curls, pull overs, tricep curls, dips on the Bosu, shoulder presses, front shoulder rows, and front shoulder lifts. Then a cool down with stretches. Whew. Every body part got equal attention and an equal measure of intensity.

I left out ab work which I was planning to do at the end but I was all used up. Thank God I didn’t – my abs are sorer than S#!& as it is. And I’m talking front and back! That Bosu makes you use them on pretty much every exercise. I even felt them doing bicep curls while on the Bosu.

As for the DVD itself, I seriously thought of returning it as the production is poor and the set – a gym somewhere in Oklahoma – is sort of boring. The two trainers who demonstrate are not much to look at – hey I’m used to the gorgeous Tony Horton and his sexy trendy gym set in the Power 90X videos. The exercises, demonstration, and instruction are sound. But there was not much new to me. I’m still considering sending it back to get my $29.95 back. On the other hand, Bruno is into exercise already and might find it useful. In the Summer we workout a lot together. So I might keep it. Nothing wishy-washy about me.

It's evident to me now that I have the knowledge, experience, and skills to design training programs (at least for myself) on my own. I plan to explore this more in the future.

I was planning an aerobics workout today but I’m not sure it’s feasible with my whole rib cage aching. I suppose a day off wouldn’t kill me…

Cool Links

5 Ways to Stay Young By Steve Edwards

It's not that we age but how we age that matters. We're all going to grow old and, from all scientific accounts, eventually die. Some of us will do it more gracefully than others. Although genetics will play a role, we have a lot of control over how the aging process affects us. Modern medical enhancements have allowed us to alter the aging process to a degree, but there is no reason to get upset if you can't afford a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, because nothing can modify the way you age like a few lifestyle changes. Here are five steps that will help you age more gracefully than Hollywood's elite.

1. Exercise harder (though not necessarily longer). Far and away, the most important thing you can do to offset the aging process is exercise. You don't need to spend a lot of time doing it, however. Short bouts of intense exercise are more effective than longer workouts. Long, easy workouts have their place in a fitness program, especially for aerobic efficiency and fat burning, but nothing comes close to high-intensity training for keeping your body young (try programs like P90X® and Turbo Jam®).

Your body loses muscle mass as you age. Resistance training creates hypertrophy (muscle building), which will offset some of that loss. Furthermore, increasing your heart rate to 90 percent of its maximum for short intervals (by doing things like jumping, sprinting, and heavy resistance training) raises capillarity, mitochondrial activity, and bone density—all important components to counteract aging.

Here's why high-intensity training can counteract aging. High-intensity training forces your body out of its comfort zone. Read More.

Order a pizza in 2010? . . .

This is funny, but the scary part about it is that it's probably not too far away from being reality. Want to know how to order a pizza in 2010? Click the link and see. turn up the volume. . listen closely. . . watch the pointer carefully! This seems so true, it's frightening! Click here.

Bosu Pro Series Equilibrium Workout Review

This workout, although easier than the Bosu Reactive Strength and Power workout,
is still impressive. Combining yoga and Pilates moves along with balance and stretching, this workout puts serious emphasis on improving balance, flexibility and stabilizing strength.

Host Jay Blahnik is anything but blah and easy on the eyes. A total of three instructors demonstrate three levels from beginner to advanced exercises. A warm up acclimates you to the Bosu and prepares you for poses and stretches.

Segment one is a variety of yoga style poses like downward dog combined with side to side lunges. This reminded me of some of Power 90X Yoga X but the Bosu makes the moves more difficult. This segment was challenging.

Segment two is a series of movements based on sun salutation that become increasingly more difficult. These are done with the Bosu platform side up and you seated and this forces you to balance on this unstable surface while performing moves like rotating your nips in circles with your hands held up. I enjoyed this segment the most and did well, probably due to my long history of horseback riding – much of it bareback. The motion of the Bosu actually reminded me of riding.

Segment three is a Pilates inspired sequence of seated, supine, and prone movement patterns. The cool down was short but not very necessary as segment three naturally slows your heart rate and respiration.

I’m not sore this morning (I did the workout yesterday afternoon) so this wasn’t very challenging in the muscle department. It’s designed more for balance training and stretching. But it was up to the task. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to improve balance, flexibility, stabilizing strength. Probably not for first timers to yoga and Pilates but if you’re already fit it might be just what you’re looking for.

Buy Bosu 3D Power Package.

Buy Bosu Classic.

Buy Bosu Equilibrium.

Bosu 3D Power Package Reactive Strength and Power Workout Video Review

Buy The Basic Classic Bosu




















Buy The Bosu 3D Power Package





















My workout yesterday was the Bosu Reactive Strength and Power workout and it’s smoking. This video is part of the Bosu Pro Series and it’s hosted by Gay Gasper who’s a fairly smooth and enjoyable host. With two other exercisers helping her demonstrate three levels – beginner, intermediate, advanced – they make it look easy. It’s not. This workout rivals Power 90X in intensity. The Bosu dome totally changes the impact of any move. Think dynamic, intense, and challenging.

This workout combines a variety of exercises that build muscular strength and endurance, enhance agility and challenge your balance and proprioceptive skills (a beneficial challenge and benefit for someone like me with Cerebral Palsy). I’ve noticed since first starting balance training with other equipment including the OSIM uSurf and GoFit disc my balance has improved. That’s an amazing benefit for a middle aged adult like me with Cerebral Palsy. Functional fitness is one of my main and ongoing goals.

The workout is approximately 55 minutes and separated into five segments – a warm up including stretching, lower body functional exercises, new variations of traditional upper body and core exercises that challenge balance and proprioception, a peak segment with reactive power moves much like Power 90X plyometrics, and a cool down including stretching. You’ll need a set of dumbbells and I used my Bowflex SelectTechs. Individual exercises include but aren’t limited to push ups, lunges, squats, chest flyes, chest presses, bicep curls, hammer curls, leg lifts, crunches, and aerobics including stepping, marching, and running in place.

The difference is the Bosu. It creates instability in every move and this challenges your muscles in ways they cannot be challenged on a stable surface like a floor or regular step. Greater muscle stimulation leads to greater muscle growth which leads to a faster metabolism which leads to greater fat and calorie burning. I’m fit and this was a challenging workout for me. I recommend it to anyone ready to take their workouts to the next level. I can’t wait to try Pilates on this thing!

I cannot stress enough the benefits of muscle challenge created by the Bosu. The Bosu dome makes you use your muscles in news ways and so efficiently you’ll work harder in less time. For example I’ve done chest flyes with machines and free weights for years. But when I did the alternating flye on the Bosu I almost fell off the first repetition. I had to recruit more muscles and work on balancing while I did the moves.

This piece of equipment takes your workouts to a whole different level because of the added element of balance and proprioception challenge. It’s worth every penny – ahem, dol1ar. (The going rate for a classic Bosu with instruction video is $99. The Bosu Power Package I bought with platform and handle plus 6 DVDs and 9 workouts is $333 but I got a discount deal with $99 off because I put the classic package in my cart first. They basically threw in the Bosu Dome for free of I bought the whole shabang).

Quick Personal Update and In The News

Welcome To My Sinuses



















Quick Update - allergy season hit here in Northern Nevada a bit early - we've had record rain and snow - and I woke up at 2 am this morning feeling like crap spread on a barbwire fence. Also we have a lot of wood smoke in the air this time of year and I'm very allergic to smoke. It's like somebody shoved two lit matches up my nose. Poor Bruno's coughing and Jerry's sneezing. I started on Claritin but it usually takes awhile to kick in - like a week or more. Bottom line, I'm exhausted and sick.

I did my first BOSU workout yesterday - BOSU Absolutely Abs. I am in love. I can do things on BOSU I can't otherwis. eThis isn't a full review but one big thing for me is I could never do a full Superman move in Power 90X despite having a padded floor. My ribs always hurt doing it. But on the BOSU I can do it! It's not totally comfortable but my ribs don't feel like they'll crack. More on BOSU later.

Here's some interesting news:

A Single Meal Can Lead to Good (or Bad) Health

It takes just one “bad” meal -- a cheeseburger, fries and a soda, fried chicken and biscuits, a slab of chocolate cake and ice cream -- to do damage to your body, according to new research.

The good news, however, is that eating just one good meal will start to repair the damage.

This occurs because, when you eat, your body breaks down the food into glucose (sugar), lipids (fats) and amino acids (the building blocks of protein).

As soon as you polish off the last of your high-fat, high-sugar meal, the sugar causes a large spike in your blood-sugar levels called “post-prandial hyperglycemia.” In the long term this can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, but there are short-term effects as well, such as:
• Your tissue becomes inflamed (as occurs when it is infected)
• Your blood vessels constrict
• Damaging free radicals are generated
• Your blood pressure may rise higher than normal
• A surge and drop in insulin may leave you feeling hungry soon after your meal
Eating healthy foods, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, lean proteins, and high-fiber items, will stave off post-prandial spikes and help to keep your blood-sugar levels even.

Even a small amount of alcohol appears to help blood-sugar levels stay stable.

The desire to eat junk food is a vicious cycle, the researchers pointed out, as the more you eat it the more your body craves it. This occurs because junk food distorts your hormonal profile, stimulating your appetite and causing you to crave unhealthy foods -- while making you feel unsatisfied when you eat only healthy ones.

The risky blood sugar spikes that follow a junk food meal are most likely to occur in people who don’t exercise, or who carry weight around their abdomen.
Sources:
• Time January 15, 2008
• Journal of the American College of Cardiology January 22, 2008; 51:249-255

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/5/a-single-meal-can-lead-to-good-or-bad-health.aspx


Laziness Increases Dangerous Organ Fat

People who don’t exercise build dangerous fat among their organs more quickly than previously thought, according to a study.
Researchers looked at visceral fat, fat among the organs that is often invisible but is linked with insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), heart disease and other metabolic syndromes.
The study involved 170 volunteers who were grouped according to exercise. One group got no exercise, another got small amounts of moderate exercise (equivalent to walking 11 miles a week), a third group got low amounts of vigorous exercise (equivalent to jogging 11 miles a week), and a final group got lots of vigorous exercise (equivalent to jogging 17 miles a week).
It was found that volunteers who did not exercise had an 8.6 percent increase in visceral fat after eight months, while those who exercised the most lost 8.1 percent of their visceral fat during that time.
Women volunteers gained visceral fat twice as quickly as men, according to researchers.
Researchers noted that the rapid increase in visceral fat among sedentary overweight adults mirrors the increasingly rapid rise in obesity in the United States. Currently, two out of three adults are obese or overweight.
On a positive note, exercise was found to take the fat away quickly. Volunteers who jogged for 17 miles each week had significant decreases in visceral fat, subcutaneous abdominal fat, which lies under the skin, and total abdominal fat.
50th Annual American College Of Sports Medicine May 28, 2003
Research Reveals the Best Abs Exercises
Fitness News Flash
-- By Nicole Nichols, Fitness Instructor
SparkPeople Sponsors help keep the site free!

We often get questions about the best abs exercises—after all, who doesn't want to tone their tummy in the least amount of time? There are countless exercises that target the abs, including fitness DVDs (Does "8 Minute Abs" ring a bell?) and even pricey machines that you see often see on infomercials. But do you need a video or specialized piece of equipment to get the abs of your dreams?

A study conducted at San Diego State University's Biomechanics Lab (and published by ACE, the American Council on Exercise) says no. Their research revealed that the best exercises for your abs don't require any gizmos, and are surprisingly easy to fit into your day.

Researchers looked at the effectiveness of 13 common abdominal exercises—everything from crunches to the "Ab Roller" machine. Using EMG (electromyography), researchers measured the muscle activity of the participants to determine which exercises best targeted the abs and the obliques, while also limiting the activity of the hips and thighs (because when an abdominal exercise is executed poorly, the hips and thighs engage to "help out" the abs).

Overall, researchers said that all of these exercises are "relatively effective" ways to train the abs—but some are more effective than others.

Check out their ranking of abs exercises (from best to worst) below:
1. Bicycle Crunches 2. Knee Lifts on Captain's Chair 3. Crunches on Ball


Click here for a demo.



Click here for a demo.


4. Crunches with Vertical Legs: This exercise is just like a traditional crunch (see #11 below), but with your legs extended up into the air, in line with the hips.
5. Torso Track Machine
6. Crunches with Arms Extended: This exercise is just like a traditional crunch (see #11 below), but you extend your arms overhead, squeezing your upper arms by your ears as your crunch up and lower down.
7. Reverse Crunches: Click here for a demo.
8. Crunches with Heel Push: This exercise is just like the Crunches with Vertical Legs (see #4 above), except that as you crunch up you also slightly lift your hips off the ground (feet towards the ceiling).
9. Ab Roller Machine
10. Plank: Click here for a demo.
11. Traditional Crunches: Click here for a demo.
12. Exercise Tubing Pull
13. Ab Rocker Machine

To view the entire study report from ACE, click here. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this PDF.)

More here. http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=191

BOSU 3D Classic With Power Package

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This puppy is in Sparks, Nevada as we speak (that's where my UPS hub is located) and should be out for delivery on Monday. Yeah! I can't wait. A review on my new BOSU 3D Classic with Power Package will be forthcoming.

As for my Rock N Roll Stepper the votes are in and we love it. There's not much I can say in the way of a review but I am planning to do a video demonstration as soon as possible. It's a straightforward little machine that rocks side to side and fun to use. I don't think I get much aerobic benefit as I'm pretty aerobically fit and it takes a lot to make me sweat and breath hard (think Kenpo Karate X) but it's a great addition to my circuit training and works your leg muscles nicely.

I did two rounds of circuit training today on the steppers, Leg Magic, and iSurf, then Power 90X Legs and Back, for a total of two hours of working out (including a load of laundry in the middle). That's what I call creating a black hole for food. Tomorrow's Super Bowl celebration will be no holds barred. I'll try for lots of protein as we made Sloppy Joes, Spicy Meatballs, cheese and crackers, and will make meat pizzas. (I'm averaging 90 to 120 grams of protein a day with 40 to 60 grams of fat - mostly omegas - and 100 to 150 grams of mostly unrefined carbs except post weight training). I'm happily looking forward to the dips, guacamole, crudites, and five kinds of chips too! Not to mention beer and wine will flow. Yummy!

Have a Happy Super Bowl Sunday!