Monday, September 15, 2008

Week 7

Strength Training:

  Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Superset 1 Elevated Pushups 15 25 35
Standing Squats (B) 15 15 15
Superset 2 Lat Pulldowns (B) 15 15 15
Oblique Abductor Raises 15 20 Wow, really?
Superset 3 Seated Rows (B) 15 15 15
Toe-Touch Crunches 20 30 40
Superset 4 Curls (B) 15 15 15
Flutter Kick 60 sec 80 sec 100 sec

Cardio Training:

Warm Up: 3-5 min jog
The following should be done on a 7 (or 8) min cycle
4x 1 min jog
6x 40m sprint
20 sec rest
5 pushups
10 situps
10 jumping jacks
Rest remainder of time
Warm Down: 3-5 min jog

Endurance Day

Warm Up: 3-5 min jog
3x 400m Run
30 seconds rest
800m Run
30 seconds rest
400m Run
2 min rest
Warm Down: 3-5 min jog

I think I can...

I’ve never liked running distance. I’ve always been a sprinter, better at getting things done quickly than going for the long haul, so I consider staying on this program for 2 months to be a personal triumph.

Last Saturday we were doing our weekly Endurance day where the goal is to run for distance; going longer periods to really push our level of endurance.

During the last lap I was feeling really exhausted, my feet and legs were aching, and I felt myself trying to quit. I started mumbling something like “I hate running”. I said it twice and noticed that it wasn’t helping me any to start whining about it. I remembered that I had read about self affirmations and that what we say and write affects the way we think, and the way our body works, so I turned my gripe around and started saying “I love running” under my breath. Now, I don’t believe that for a second. For me, saying “I love running” just feels like sarcasm, but it helped. I stopped noticing the pain in my legs, the cloud of exhaustion lifted and I was able to finish.

I will be trying to get more positive about this stuff from now on. Maybe saying “I love pullups” is silly, but I’m going to try to keep the griping to a minimum and maybe this will actually become…..fun.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Week 6

Strength Training:

  Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Superset 1 Elevated Pushups 15 25 35
Standing Squats (B) 15 15 15
Superset 2 Lat Pulldowns (B) 15 15 15
Oblique Abductor Raises 15 20 Wow, really?
Superset 3 Seated Rows (B) 15 15 15
Toe-Touch Crunches 20 30 40
Superset 4 Curls (B) 15 15 15
Flutter Kick 60 sec 80 sec 100 sec

Cardio Training:

Warm Up: 3-5 min jog
The following should be done on a 7 (or 8) min cycle
4x 1 min jog
6x 40m sprint
20 sec rest
5 pushups
10 situps
10 jumping jacks
Rest remainder of time
Warm Down: 3-5 min jog

Endurance Day

Warm Up: 3-5 min jog
3x 400m Run
30 seconds rest
800m Run
30 seconds rest
400m Run
2 min rest
Warm Down: 3-5 min jog

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Metrics

  Week 1 Week 5 Week 9 Week 13 Week 17
Pushups (max):          
Wall sit (seconds):          
Pull-ups (max):          
Leg Raises (seconds):          
Calf Raises (in 60 sec):          
40 Meter Sprint:          
Mile (done on endurance day):          
Weight:          
Pushups:
Standard pushup motion. Lie on your stomach. Place your hands palm down on the ground such that they are perpendicular to your body. Your hands should be wide enough so that your elbows are at 90 degrees at the bottom of your pushup. Start with your arms fully extended and your body off the floor. Lower your body until your elbows reach 90 degrees then press back up to the starting position. Keep your back as straight as possible. For normal pushups your feet should be the fulcrum, for assisted pushups the fulcrum should be your knees. Do as many as possible in one set without rest.
Wall Sit:
Place your back against a wall and your feet away from the wall such that getting into a sitting position puts your knees at 90 degree angles. Sit, as if sitting in a chair (but without one obviously), for as long as possible without rest recording the time in seconds.
Pull-ups:
For traditional pullups: Grab a bar above your head. Suspend your body as straight as possible, knees bent if necessary, and pull until your chin crests the bar. For assisted pull-ups: Loop a towel over a bar or other support. Grab the towel at about chin level with an even grip such that your feet are on the ground. Lower your body until you are hanging from your hands with your feet behind you. Pull up using your legs to assist you until your chin reaches the level of your hands. Do as many as possible without rest.
Leg Raises:
Lie on your back with your hands at your sides. With your legs fully extended raise your legs until your feet are ~6 inches off the floor. Hold for as long as possible without allowing your back to arch or your feet to drop. Record time in seconds.
Calf Raises:
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Press using your calves until you are standing on the balls of your feet. Lower your self back to the standing position. Do these as controlled as possible. Record the number done in 60 seconds.
40 Meter Sprint:
From a standing or 3 point start, sprint 40 meters and record the time in seconds
Mile:
Run a measured mile attempting to get the fastest time possible. Record the time, preferably in minutes and seconds. This portion of the metrics should be done on the weeks endurance day.
Weight:
Find a trusty scale and weigh yourself. Record your weight. Please try and use the same scale for all weight measurements. Also weight isn't a reliable metric as the average person's weight will fluctuate upwards of 5 lbs in a day. It's also important to remember that muscle is significantly more dense than fat so significant improvements can be made in body composition without a change in weight.

Week 5

Strength Training:

  Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Superset 1 T-Pushups 10 15 20
Lat Pull-downs (B) 15 15 15
Superset 2 Stationary Lunges 15 20 25
Shoulder Shrugs (B) 15 20 30
Superset 3 Vertical Leg Raises 15 20 30
Standing Curls (B) 15 15 15
Superset 4 Lateral Raises (B) 15 15 15
1 Legged V-Ups 15 20 30

Notes:

The Monday workout for this week should be replaced by your week 5 metrics. Obviously the goal on the metrics is to max each exercise so working out before or after is kinda silly.

Cardio Training:

Warm Up: 3-5 min jog
3x 6x 30m (33yd) Sprint
30 seconds rest
5 min rest (Switch Groups)
Warm Down: 3-5 min jog

Endurance Day:

1 mile run for time to complete the week 5 metrics.

Monday, August 11, 2008

What I learned from a Bugatti Veyron

I've recently been really into the excellent British show Top Gear (check your BBC listings). They have a relatively famous clip where they take a Bugatti Veyron up to it's top speed of 253 mph. It's really an amazing bit of tv, and an amazing bit of motivation when I work out.

In the video they point out that the faster you the more resistance you encounter. That's why the Veyron only needs 250 horse power to get to 150 mph, but another 750 horse power for the next 100 mph. I can't stop thinking about this when I run. My reasoning is two fold.

First that bit of knowledge reminds me that little gains represent big changes. For every second I shave off any distance that represents a significant gain in my personal horse power. If it takes the car 3 times more horse power to do an additional 100 mph I can only imagine what it takes me to do just one more mph. After all I'm significantly less powerful in the first place and a lot less streamlined.

Secondly the Veyron reminds me that for every little bit harder that I push I'm met by significantly more resistance. That means that even the slightest bit more effort increases the difficulty of my workout, and it's pay off, by a exponentially more. Somehow that makes it a bit easier to push just a little bit more, even when I've got almost nothing left.

So while most people will be chasing a Veyron for it's $1.6 million dollar price tag I'll be using it as motivation of a different kind.

Week 4

This week we add exercise bands. There's a few qualities you should look for when choosing bands so please check out the fitness band guide (coming soon).

Strength

  • Pec Flys w/bands - 15
  • Pullups - 15, 15, 20
  • Wallsits - 45 sec, 60 sec, 90 sec
  • Side Plank - 30 sec, 45 sec, 60 sec
  • Shoulder Press w/bands - 15
  • Leg Raises - 20, 30, 40
  • Triceps Extension 20, 20, 20

Endurance: Up-ladder

Should be a little harder than previous weeks as this one is back loaded. Run hard for the first 3-4 active sections then you may want to pace yourself.

  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 0:20
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 0:40
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 1:00
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 1:20
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 1:40
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 2:00
  • Rest 2:00
  • Active 2:00
  • Rest 2:00

Endurance Day

2 miles for time or 20 minutes.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Week 3

Strength

Superset Beg. Int. Adv.
1 Towel Pullups 10 15 20
Step Calf Raises 20 30 40
2 Pushups 20 20 25
Leg Raises 30 sec. 45 sec. 60 sec.
3 Side Squats (Per side) 10 15 20
Forward Plank 30 sec. 45 sec. 60 sec.
4 Forward Triceps Extension 10 15 20

This week your going to have to find something to hang off of for towel pullups. You can use a sturdy door for this but a more stable surface would be better. We walked over to the elementary school and used the monkey bars at first but you could use a stairwell or a stud in the garage.

If you like buying stuff you can get a door-hung pullup bar. These are really cool. They're easy to put up, sturdy, and you can use them to hook other equipment to. The only downside is the pressure on the door frame could leave marks, we put hand towels between the contact points to reduce wear, but that'll only go so far. We'll be doing more hanging stuff in the future so if you want to get this now you wont regret it.

Endurance

This week we kick it up a little more with a pyramid. Still focusing on the timed interval running that you're learned to love but starts and ends easy. 2 min rest periods with 30 second steps.
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 0:30 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 1:30 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 2:00 Active (Apex)
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 1:30 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
  • 0:30 Active
  • 2:00 Rest
Total 23 min

Endurance Day

1.5 miles for time or 17 min jog

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Week 2

Ok, you lived through the first week. Congrats! This week’s a little harder. 2 1/2 Supersets and 1 more minute of running plus we’re adding a 6th day endurance showdown.

Strength

Superset Beg. Int. Adv.
1 Pushups 20 modified 20 25
Lunges 10 15 20
2 Bicycle Crunches 30 sec. 45 sec. 60 sec.
Bounces 30 sec. 45 sec. 60 sec.

Endurance

Down Ladder

More interval running.

Rest:

  • Beg: walk
  • Int: light jog *
  • Adv: light jog

Active:

  • Beg: jog
  • Int: jog/run
  • Adv: run/sprint

The Workout:

  1. 2:00 Rest/Warmup
  2. 2:00 Active
  3. 2:00 Rest
  4. 1:40 Active
  5. 2:00 Rest
  6. 1:20 Active
  7. 2:00 Rest
  8. 1:00 Active
  9. 2:00 Rest
  10. 0:40 Active
  11. 2:00 Rest
  12. 0:20 Active
  13. 2:00 Rest

Total Time: 21min

Endurance Day:(Day 6) 1 mile for time or 13 min jog

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Guidelines for our cardio workouts

There's plenty of opportunities during a cardio workout to make it a lot easier than it should be. Here's a few tips that you can use to ensure that you're getting the most out of your workouts.

Hard vs Easy

Many of our workouts have a mix of easy and hard segments. When you're doing these it's important to keep the difference in mind. The hard sections are meant to be just that, hard. Obviously, the goal is to complete the workout, but almost as important is the idea of really pushing the hard segments. Regardless if the workout says jog or sprint for the hard segments you should be tired. If the hard segments are the part that wears you out the easy sections should build you back up. The easy sections are designed to be rest so that by the end you're ready to dive into the next hard segment.

Keep Moving

The cardio workouts we've designed include lots of easy, or rest segments. This doesn't mean that the time is spent stationary. There are many reasons why staying moving is beneficial even during rest periods. You'll be less likely to cramp or experience injury if you keep moving, you'll continue burning calories and building endurance, heck if it's cold you'll stay warm. So take your time to recover, but please keep moving.

Endurance Days

Starting with week two, we introduce the concept of endurance days. Endurance days are designed to fill the gap in the other workouts and increase your overall level of endurance. On these days the goal is to maintain an increased level of exertion for a longer period of time, building as we go. Your goal when doing these workouts should be to maintain as consistent a pace as possible through out the whole workout, pushing your self to the limit by the end of the exercise. Endurance days will also provide a great way to keep track of your progress since many of our other cardio sets don't lend them selves to direct comparison.

Finding Space

If there's a school track near your house head on over there. If you don't have a track you can get a pedometer or even the nifty iPod addon Apple Nike to help you track your runs. You can also use Google Maps to plot a route. Right click on the map and place a "from" and "to" location then look on the left column to see how far the route is.

Cardio exercise provides all the balance to our workouts. Simply focusing on the strength exercises will get you good results, but you'll get a lot better results if you follow the cardio plan as well. Again working out in a group can provide great incentive to keep to the plan, and push yourself every stride. These workouts are a great opportunity for a little friendly competition.

Guidelines for our strength workouts.

Getting the most out of our workouts is about doing more than just the exercises listed. To that end here are a few tips on how to get the best results.

Supersets

Lets start off by tackling the idea of super sets. A super set is composed of 2 or more exercises that are done in quick alternations with rest only at the end of each "set". For example in week 1 we do a super set consisting of push ups and squats. To do this set correctly you do the push ups, then transition immediately into the squats. Once both exercises are done you rest before starting the set over.

Form

Just like every personal trainer, gym teacher and IRS auditor says, your form matters, especially for strength exercises (and W-2's). Poor form can result in uneven strength gains, minimal gains, and even injury. So please when you're doing your strength exercises go slow and focus on your form.

Exhaustion

Ideally as you're going through your strength exercises you should find your self getting tired. When you get tired two very bad things can happen. You might decide to stop your sets early, and if you don't you might get injured. To avoid this if you're tired to the point that finishing the exercise is difficult, step down. Step down in weight, step down in quantity, step down in time. Whatever it is the goal should be to finish the set even at reduced difficulty.

I'm not gonna lie, following the guidelines will take your workouts to a whole new level of difficult. Is it worth it? Absolutely. If you keep these tips in mind as you go through the strength workouts you'll get as much as possible out of your time.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Week 1

Ok, here we go with our first steps to losing weight, getting stronger, feeling good.

Strength

Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Superset 1 Pushups 15 reg/mod 15 regular 25 regular
Bodyweight Squats 10 15 25
Superset 2 Crunches 20 30 40
Calf Raises 15 25 40

Endurance

Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Easy 3 min walk 3 min jog 3 min jog
Hard 1 min jog 1 min run 1 min sprint
Sets 5+ 6+ 6+

Diet

This week try to give up one empty calorie habit. Don't replace it with another. Like instead of getting that soda at lunch, get water or avoid eating candy during the day. It doesn't have to be a big sacrafice but make it conscious and stick to it.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Welcome to the workout from home blog

Hello and welcome to the workout from home blog. What you're reading is a workout program designed with the idea of making working out convenient and doable at home. The workouts we present are what we've actually done, and all of the results are real. So if you're interested in getting in shape here's what we did.

Who are we?

First let me say that we're not fitness professionals of any type. We are a group of 6 people living in Northern California who are interested in improving our level of fitness. For some of us this means getting into shape, and for some of us this means getting back into shape. We're a pretty diverse group, a mix of men and women each with their own fitness level and time constraints. But all of us have made a commitment to getting in shape, and we're trying to do this together.

What's our plan?

The workouts we've got planned run 5 or 6 days a week and should take less than an hour, counting warm up and warm down. We focus on alternating days of strength and cardio training. We've tried to design workouts that build as you do but always pack the maximum benefit into the minimum time.

I'm interested what do I need?

The last thing anyone wants is a house full of unused exercise equipment, so we're trying to keep equipment costs down. There's no equipment requirements for the first few weeks and after that we're trying to get the most out of everything we buy. With a little improvisation and intelligent equipment purchases anyone should be able to get in shape for less than the cost of a few months at the gym.

Final thoughts and tips.

We focused on working out as a group. This makes working out easier and provides us with motivation to keep going. We highly encourage people to do this too, it's motivational, it's social and it's just more fun. We kept that goal in mind so all of our workouts are designed for groups, so find a friend and get moving.