With the weather outside being as nice it's a great idea to take advantage of it by doing cardio outside like hiking, biking, outdoor swimming etc. I however have a different type of cardio that passes time quickly and works very well.
First off, you need a medicine ball and lots of open space like a sports field or your backyard if it's large enough. The ball doesn't have to be heavy. A three pounder would work well for some to begin with. Remember, this is for cardio more than strength.
Now to perform this cardio, all you have to do is throw the ball and jog to it right after you throw it and repeat for whatever your time goal is. You could also walk to the ball if the jogging is too intense. I would wear a watch to keep track of time.
Now for the throwing part, there are many different throwing techniques to use which help keep this exercise from being boring.
Overhead Squat Throw- Holding the ball with both hands in front of you, squat down with your arms straight and explode up starting with your legs and toss the ball over your head.
Overhead Extension Throw-Start with your hands holding the ball over your head. Keeping your upper arms from moving, bend your elbows so the ball should be behind your head and extend your arms and release the ball.
Chest Pass Throw-Hold the ball with both hands lined up with the middle of your chest. The ball should be touching your chest at the starting position and with both hands, throw the ball straight forward.
Angled Chest Pass- Hold the ball with both hands lined up with the middle of your chest. The ball should be touching your chest at the starting position and with both hands, throw the ball up on an angle. Imagine you are trying to throw it over a wall that is a foot or two taller than you.
One Arm Press Throw-Pick the ball up with both arms and decide which arm you want to throw with first. Grab the ball with the side you choose to throw with first and start with the ball beside your head with your elbow bent at a 90 degree angle. Push the ball up in the air then repeat with the other side.
Be sure to take your time while performing these throws and keep your core area tight. And if it's hot outside, be sure to stay well hydrated. Hope it's makes cardio fun for you if it's not already. Enjoy the summer.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
No Time for the Gym. What Should I do?
Everyone has those days where their entire day is full of things whether it be work, family, errands, whatever and won't be able to fit in the gym or go for a walk or something along those lines outdoors. And then when they are finally done with everything, they have to hang out at the house for a family nights, help kids with homework or have homework of their own to take care of, a favorite show is on whatever it may be. Some may even be too exhausted to get changed and head over to the gym. That's a good excuse but there are ways to work a LITTLE bit of exercise in. Below will be ideas of how to get some exercise in.
Say you finished your day and have dinner and prefer to stay home after finishing and watch your favorite show. You could easily run in place while watching your show. That would be awesome to do because then your cardio session won't be boring. May not be as intense as running on a treadmill but it's better than nothing. If your show has commercials, you could do sit ups, push ups, body weight squats, back extensions etc. during the commercial until the show comes back on. Heck, you could even do those exercises while watching the show or bring some weights into the TV room and perform some exercises. This could also be done if you are too exhausted to go to the gym or go outside.
Say you're stuck with some extra work from your job. That sucks and will probably have you all stressed out but don't worry, not only will these ideas help you get some exercise in but will slightly lower your stress. Work on typing up your work project and time yourself for every three to five minutes, stop working and hit the floor for sit ups, push ups, back extensions, or perform some dumbbell exercises for three to five minutes. Alternated between the two. If it's a big project and you need more time, work for 10 minutes then go to a three minute exercise round. If your project requires you to come up with a proposal of some sort, try the jogging in place and when the idea hits, go right to the computer then go back to the jogging in place. Some laugh but running or any other type of exercise could get some people to think better. Obviously, this won't work for every career person but hopefully this gets them thinking of ways of their own.
It's family night to do homework, watch movies, play games and have all sorts of fun. NICE! These ideas will not only help you, but your family as well. First is getting the children to finish their homework. Most slack like myself many years ago. Give the children something to look forward to doing so they want to finish there homework and get right to it because face it, if you're help your child with homework, you are also not doing anything physical which will make it just as boring for yourself. Plan a night where you have a family night outside after they finish their homework whether it be a sport like basketball, baseball, or even games like tag, running, biking, or hiking. I'm sure everyone has their own game they like to play but as long as there's movement, it works. You could even team up with other families with those activities as well. If you have a family movie night, try doing the running in place, sit ups, push ups, etc. during the movie. I'm sure your family wouldn't mind if you exercised during the movie as long as you don't grunt, slam the dumbbells, and such. You can even have your family join along too.
You're probably sitting right now thinking that's not as intense as the gym and I will flat out tell you, it's not but it's better than nothing. Any little bit of exercise will beat sitting on your A$$ and typing up papers for work or watching TV any day. Hopefully this has opened up ways for you to get some exercise in on days you can't make it to the gym or do your normal exercise routine.
Say you finished your day and have dinner and prefer to stay home after finishing and watch your favorite show. You could easily run in place while watching your show. That would be awesome to do because then your cardio session won't be boring. May not be as intense as running on a treadmill but it's better than nothing. If your show has commercials, you could do sit ups, push ups, body weight squats, back extensions etc. during the commercial until the show comes back on. Heck, you could even do those exercises while watching the show or bring some weights into the TV room and perform some exercises. This could also be done if you are too exhausted to go to the gym or go outside.
Say you're stuck with some extra work from your job. That sucks and will probably have you all stressed out but don't worry, not only will these ideas help you get some exercise in but will slightly lower your stress. Work on typing up your work project and time yourself for every three to five minutes, stop working and hit the floor for sit ups, push ups, back extensions, or perform some dumbbell exercises for three to five minutes. Alternated between the two. If it's a big project and you need more time, work for 10 minutes then go to a three minute exercise round. If your project requires you to come up with a proposal of some sort, try the jogging in place and when the idea hits, go right to the computer then go back to the jogging in place. Some laugh but running or any other type of exercise could get some people to think better. Obviously, this won't work for every career person but hopefully this gets them thinking of ways of their own.
It's family night to do homework, watch movies, play games and have all sorts of fun. NICE! These ideas will not only help you, but your family as well. First is getting the children to finish their homework. Most slack like myself many years ago. Give the children something to look forward to doing so they want to finish there homework and get right to it because face it, if you're help your child with homework, you are also not doing anything physical which will make it just as boring for yourself. Plan a night where you have a family night outside after they finish their homework whether it be a sport like basketball, baseball, or even games like tag, running, biking, or hiking. I'm sure everyone has their own game they like to play but as long as there's movement, it works. You could even team up with other families with those activities as well. If you have a family movie night, try doing the running in place, sit ups, push ups, etc. during the movie. I'm sure your family wouldn't mind if you exercised during the movie as long as you don't grunt, slam the dumbbells, and such. You can even have your family join along too.
You're probably sitting right now thinking that's not as intense as the gym and I will flat out tell you, it's not but it's better than nothing. Any little bit of exercise will beat sitting on your A$$ and typing up papers for work or watching TV any day. Hopefully this has opened up ways for you to get some exercise in on days you can't make it to the gym or do your normal exercise routine.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Best Training for an Athlete!
First off, Happy 2011. The new year is here and hopefully you have decided to get off your a$$ and work toward your goals and stay with them through the good and the bad.
The first blog of the year here will be for you athletes who think your going to be awesome just using free weights and working on skill drills and such. Now for some that works well but I say if you're an athlete, you need to train OUTSIDE of the weight room sometimes. I am a personal believer that strongman type training is a lot better for athletes building greater explosiveness and hitting fibers that normally don't get hit using free weights. There's a whole variety of exercises like farmers walk, tire flips, trailer drags, plate carries, and many more to hit all the muscle groups in the human body. Equipment could vary as well such as chains, cinder blocks, a tire weighing anywhere from 100-300 lbs. or even more. As I've said before, in this game there isn't any rules.
Different athletes could benefit from this type of training but in my opinion, football players will get the most benefit do to how physically tough and explosive you have to be. All athletes could notice a difference in full body strength and power, speed, jumping, overall athleticism, and toughness. Trust me if you think you dominate the iron, try this and say it's easy.
Now don't get me wrong, free weights work great too but it's good to mix things up. It'll shock your muscles as well as change things up in your routine keeping it fresh and not making you bored.
Now for any athletes interested in giving this type of training a try or have any questions, send me an e-mail and I'll gladly help you out. Thank you and have a great New year!
The first blog of the year here will be for you athletes who think your going to be awesome just using free weights and working on skill drills and such. Now for some that works well but I say if you're an athlete, you need to train OUTSIDE of the weight room sometimes. I am a personal believer that strongman type training is a lot better for athletes building greater explosiveness and hitting fibers that normally don't get hit using free weights. There's a whole variety of exercises like farmers walk, tire flips, trailer drags, plate carries, and many more to hit all the muscle groups in the human body. Equipment could vary as well such as chains, cinder blocks, a tire weighing anywhere from 100-300 lbs. or even more. As I've said before, in this game there isn't any rules.
Different athletes could benefit from this type of training but in my opinion, football players will get the most benefit do to how physically tough and explosive you have to be. All athletes could notice a difference in full body strength and power, speed, jumping, overall athleticism, and toughness. Trust me if you think you dominate the iron, try this and say it's easy.
Now don't get me wrong, free weights work great too but it's good to mix things up. It'll shock your muscles as well as change things up in your routine keeping it fresh and not making you bored.
Now for any athletes interested in giving this type of training a try or have any questions, send me an e-mail and I'll gladly help you out. Thank you and have a great New year!
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