Total body strength, endurance, and conditioning workout. All you need is 1 pair of dumbbells! ⠀

Total body strength, endurance, and conditioning workout. All you need is 1 pair of dumbbells! ⠀

 I’m not normally an advocate of throwing out random workouts and expecting people to fit to them. That being said this is a very accessible workout for just about any fitness level. Gyms are also most likely closing unfortunately, and a ton of people are too scared to even step foot into a gym. So this can be done at home if needed! 💪 🏠 ⠀

 If you need help choosing a weight to use, I recommend starting with a weight that you can safely, yet still a challenge to press overhead for 10-12 reps. Increase or decrease the weight depending on the difficulty. ⠀

         The Exercises

1) Goblet Squat 

2) Single Leg RDL w/balance support 

3)Push Press 

4)Single Arm Row 

5)Hammer Curl 

6)Overhead Tricep Extensions 

7)Floor Press or Bench Press if you have⠀

 -Do 10 reps of each exercise *15 reps if you’re using a lighter weight. 

-Take minimal to no rest in between each one.

 -After you complete all 7 exercises, you can then rest for 2-3 minutes before restarting.

 -We want a total of 3-5 rounds. ⠀ 

Let me know if you have any questions or need a modification! 🙌 SONG: FADED by ZHU Awesome videographer: @theelbryan 

The Gym Alone Isn't Enough...

Gray Cook says it best... 

“We can’t fix everything with corrective exercise. If somebody’s sleeping 2 hours a night, if they’re dehydrated, or only getting half the protein of their dietary needs, then the things we do in exercise or movement correction probably won’t have the fertile soil to grow anywhere.”

 ⠀ The same goes for regular exercise and with the goal of changing body composition, getting stronger, dropping body fat etc. ⠀ 

    You can’t just put all your eggs in the workout basket and think that’s enough. Exercise alone is amazing for you, but it’s only a very small percentage of the bigger picture. Optimize the rest your lifestyle and reap the benefits. 

⠀ If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, if you’ve been struggling to get lean, build muscle, if you’ve been dealing with nagging injuries or pain then don’t just look at your exercise or rehab alone as the fix. Hit your nutrition targets, your rest targets, and your hydration targets and watch just how great you feel and perform! ⠀

 SOURCE: FMS Level 1 Course Curriculum. 

Gamma Labs G Fuel Review... Quick and Easy Pre Workout Energy

The other day when I was at 7/11 picking up a bottle of water they had these little packets on display on the door; they were only around like 75 cents a packet so why not try it out. I didn't know anything about the brand or the company and I wasn't even 100% sure what this was exactly until I read the back. It's pretty much a light pre workout or energy drink you can take before "playing" it says on the back. There isn't a huge and crazy ingredients list, just some vitamins, and a few other interesting things; there is 150mg of caffeine which actually isn't too crazy at all for most people, and there also is a really cool antioxidant complex that they threw into the mix as well.

I used it the other afternoon before the gym, just threw it in a bottle of water and it mixed very easily. I was never one to care about the taste of supplements, whether bad or good, it was just never a big deal to me, but I do know a lot of you out there do care so I will add that it tasted pretty crappy. Like putrid lemonade that had been sitting in the sun for a few days bad; it actually had my face cringing a little bit like I was eating some sour candy.

I really wasn't expecting much, but I'm surprised to say that this stuff wasn't too bad! I felt good shortly after taking it, and had a great workout; to me personally it felt like it was effecting my mood in a positive way rather than my strength or stamina for instance which is perfectly fine for me. I just felt in the zone I guess would be the best way to put it, like I was actually bumping my head every now and then when a good song on my ipod would come on.  Just keep one thing in mind though, I don't normally take pre-workout supps at all so my tolerance to them is very low; if you do normally drink them than you might not get crap out of this stuff; some of you may not even consider this a pre-workout at all! As I said before look at the ingredient profile, it's very light.

So if you don't like taking hard core pre-workouts for whatever reason, they get you too wired, edgy, you don't feel well, then I do recommend that you try this stuff as it's not as harsh!

How Many Times Should You Be Coming to The GYM Each Week???

How Many Times Should You Be
Coming to The GYM Each Week?

This is another question I get a lot from clients, and sometimes it surprises me when they expect to see results when they only come once to twice a week to train... Basically no matter where you are, old, out of shape, over weight, obese, never exercised in your life... anything less than 2 times a week isn't really going to get you anywhere and fast! I mean it's still better than nothing, but you really want to shoot for coming to the gym or working out 3-4 times a week for most individuals.

If you're new to the gym, exercise, just starting out, or just getting back into things from taking a long break I'd say its perfectly okay to train 3 times a weeks for the first 4-6 weeks. You'll see good results at only 3 days if you fall into this category as its new to your body and it's just enough to get it to change!

Now if you're more experienced, exercise every now and then, or even exercise frequently, you consider yourself in decent shape, or at least better than average, then you really need to be shooting for at least 4 days in the gym every week. That is if you're trying to improve your shape and figure... Otherwise you can still workout 3 days a week but you're not going to see much of any type of changes it's more so just maintenance work.

If you're in super good shape then you'd want to coming to the gym 4-5 days a week, but in my opinion, no more as I am a huge believer in rest and recovery! Just remember, changes don't physically happen at the gym, they happen when you're resting!

***Remember as well, that your workouts shouldn't last more than an hour - no matter how good of shape you're in!***

Don't forget that you should also be getting 30-60 minutes of light-moderate physical activity - even on days that you're not at the gym. Some great choices: a brisk walk, light jogging, walking the dog, swimming, bike riding and so on.

THE ALMIGHTY SPARTACUS WORKOUT

If you're looking to get in shape and fast people may tell you that there is no way to do it fast and easy, getting in shape and looking good takes time; well they have never participated in the Spartacus workout! Although it's definitely no easy feat by any means, stick to it for a while and you'll definitely see some pretty nice results come on pretty fast. That's because this grueling high intensity circuit routine can get you burning as much as 731 calories in just 41 minutes! Whether you're new to working out, or you're a veteran the Spartacus workout will for surely give you a run for your money. I honestly believe that if you can complete the circuit exactly as instructed - 3 sets, 60 sec stations for each exercise, only 15 sec rest between exercises, and pumping out as many reps as you can - than you're in incredible shape!

I do this workout every now and then and sometimes I find myself barely making it through the third and final sweat... By then you'll be pouring sweat and ready to pass out. Don't get me wrong though you don't have to kill yourself for the Spartacus workout to be enjoyable, you can adjust each station time so it's less, you don't have to do all 3 sets, etc. I sometimes drop each station time from 60 seconds to 40-50 seconds and that makes all the difference. Although I see nothing wrong with sticking strictly to the Spartacus workout for a few weeks (3-6) it's always good to switch it up so that your body will keep progressing. So what are you waiting for, make an undefeated champion gladiator out of yourself, or at least your physique!

See the link for a better description, and directions for the workout and each exercise**
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/spartacus-workout-1?onepage=1