Philip & Beth's Beach Cardio 8/29

People tell Beth and I all the time....

"it would be easy for me to stay in great shape like you guys if I worked out as much as you do".

Wow... just how much time do we spend working out?!?

Common mis-understaning here. We work out WAY LESS than most of our gym-going friends but we do train with a lot more INTENSITY. As a matter-of-fact we train the same way we do our Boot Camps... go 110% hard 3 times a week and just stay active the rest of the time.

On Saturday we stopped by Crabtree at 4:45 PM on Saturday on our way up to the condo thinking it closed at 6 PM. Turns out it closed at 5 PM. So we decided we would do just do cardio on the beach for 30 minutes or so.

Now for most of our friends it seems that 30 minutes of cardio is just that... 30 minutes of steady walking, running, biking, etc.

Here's what we did:

Spring 1 minute / Walk 1 minute x 6 = 12 minutes

Sprint 45 seconds / Walk 75 seconds x 6 = 12 minutes

Sprint 30 seconds / Walk 90 seconds x 6 = 12 minutes

Total workout time of 36 minutes. One serious fat-burning interval workout. On the beach. No equipment needed... I didn't even wear shoes.

So much better than going round and round on the treadmill at the gym for half an hour or more. Not only was this outdoors on the beach from an exercise physiology standpoint the benefits are so much more.

Remember, it is not how long you train it is how hard you train that gets you results.

Really, who wants to spend all of their time in the gym? We want to be fit so we can really LIVE outside of the gym!

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

Fat-Blasting Navy Seals Workout

Here's a great workout I picked up off the Navy Seals workout site and modified a bit.

Complete 5 rounds for time of:

10 burpees
20 box/bench jumps
30 lunges
40 push-ups
50 squats

(Source: navyseals.com forums)

Althought I spent 7 years as a US Army Ranger and did some seriously tough bodyweight training I have to admit that Navy Seals are probably the fittest guys I ever met.

You can absolutely get in the best shape of your life ~ lean, fit and ripped ~ without an expensive gym members!

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

5 Round Fitness Challenge for Time

Here's a great, simple bodyweight "Fitness Challenge"

Complete 5 Rounds for Time

50 Crunches
40 Air Squats
30 Staggered Hand Push-ups
20 Alternating Lunges
10 Regular Push-ups
Run 1 lap

The lap should be a few hundred meters to a 1/2 mile maximum. A 1/4 mile works nicely!

Beginners start with 1/2 the reps or just do 3 rounds.

Enjoy!

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

No Such Thing as the Fat-Burning Zone

Why do we focus on High-Intensity Interval Cardio and Energy System Development so much in Boot Camp?

Why aren't we big fans of long, slow "fat-burning zone" cardio?

Because HIIT and ESD training work so much better for fat loss! We'll leave that other cardio stuff for people who still use body-part isolation routines.

Here's a great article I recenly came across explaining the futility of training in the mythical fat-burning cardio zone.

The "fat-burning zone" is another one of those urban legends of fitness. Legend has it, a certain level of exercise results in a larger number of calories burned being derived from fat. This does not mean that stored body fat is the selective source. It only describes the relative percentage of utilization of three substrates: fat, carbohydrate and protein.

Truth: The fat burning zone actually describes the percentage of calories burned that are derived from fat as an energy source. Do you know when you are burning the most calories from fat? Sorry, but the highest percentage of fat utilization is at rest. The more intense the exercise becomes, the more carbohydrate is used as a source.

Losing weight is about the number of calories burned, not the number of those calories that come from fat as a source. If the fat-burning zone idea actually worked, we could get extremely lean by simply sitting still.

Let's use a mathematical example: Let's assume that we have two identical exercisers who are going to exercise for 20 minutes. Exerciser #1 is doing a slow walk to stay in the "fat-burning zone." Exerciser #2 is running hard for the whole 20 minutes.

To keep the example simple, we will assume that exerciser #1 will derive 40 percent of his or her calories from fat. Exerciser #2 will move out of the fat-burning zone and only derive 20 percent of his or her calories from fat.

Exerciser #1 will walk at three miles per hour and will cover one mile in twenty minutes. This will result in a caloric expenditure of 100 calories, with 40 calories coming from fat.

Exerciser #2 will run at 7.5 miles per hour and will cover 2.5 miles in twenty minutes. This will result in a caloric expenditure of 250 calories with 50 calories coming from fat.

The exerciser in the "fat-burning zone" burned fewer calories and fewer calories from fat in the same amount of time, while the exerciser working harder with disregard for the fat-burning zone burned 2.5 times as many calories and 10 more calories from fat.

Now, if we use the calculation of one pound of body fat equaling 3500 calories, the math gets crazy after one year. Let's assume that these exercisers followed the same program for one year and exercised three times a week, exerciser #1 would burn 300 calories a week or 15,600 calories per year. This would result in a fat loss of about 4.5 pounds. Exerciser #2 would burn 39,000 calories and lose 11 lbs by getting out of the old fat burning zone.

Stop worrying about burning fat and start worrying about burning calories by training harder, smarter and more often.

Michael Boyle is one of the world’s leading experts in the area of performance enhancement.

Note: Michael is one of the trainers at Athlete's Performance in Arizona founded and owned by Mark Verstegen. I have been using Mark's programs with my clients and Boot Campers for years and am a big fan.

Train to excel at the sport of life!

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

Bell Pepper Tuna Bowl Recipe

Here's another great recipe from our favorite Nutritional Guru... Jayson Hunter. I love this one!

;-) Coach Phil

This is something you would see in Rachael Ray’s 30 minute cookbook or on one of Rachael Ray’s tv shows.

It is simple, quick and tastes delicious.

I have to give credit to Beth Rea for providing me with this recipe and it is a great lunch when I am in a hurry and don’t have much time to eat.

Mix tuna packed in water as you like it:

Lite mayo
Any spices you likerelishcilantro
Slice red (or yellow, orange, green) bell pepper in half and remove seeds.

Put tuna mixture into bell pepper and enjoy a light, easy, healthy meal.

Now I didn’t put quantities in this recipe because everyone likes their tuna salad mixed differently. I suggest you start with 2 cans of tuna packed in water and then mix 1 Tbsp of lite mayo and 1 Tbsp of relish with the tuna.

Then continue to add small amounts of each until it becomes the consistency you desire.

Then add a small amount of cliantro and taste. Continue to add cliantro until it meets your taste levels. You can do the same with any other spices that you like to add to tuna dishes.

Just remember to start with small amounts and then taste because too much of any one spice could ruin the entire meal.

Yours in good health,

Jayson Hunter RD
CSCS
America’s Trusted Weight Loss Expert

PS Check out Jayson's "Carb Rotation Diet" if you want to torch some serious body-fat. There is a specific plan for Women and one for Men.

You can find it at...

http://tinyurl.com/kve2jt

Drop 10 Fitness Challenge

For Wednesday we have an Individual Fitness Challenge planned ~ one of our Beach Bodz Drop 10's. This is also a great workout you can do on your own right at home.

Group Warm-up ~ 5 minutes

Group Core Workout ~ 5 minutes

Drop 10 Fitness Challenge

Complete the following workout individually as quickly as possible. Concentrate on good form on all of the exercises. You MUST complete all of the reps for one exercise BEFORE moving on to the next. For example, most of you cannot do 50 Kneeling Push-ups (yet!) so do 10, rest, do 10 rest, until you hit 50 reps. Then move on to the Squat Jumps. Your goal is to finish as quickly as possible. Your time will be recorded. There is a 30 minute MAXIMUM time limit. If you do not complete the entire workout in under 30 minutes then we will log how much you completed in the 30 minutes. In a few weeks we'll do this again and see how much you have improved.

Here's our Drop 10 Workout (hint: you can probably figure out why we call it a "Drop 10".

Drop 10 Fitness Challenge

Round 1:
50 Push-ups or Kneeling Push-ups
40 Squat Jumps
30 Crunches
20 Butt-ups
10 Squat Thrusts
Run 1 lap

Round 2:
40 Push-ups or Kneeling Push-ups
30 Squat Jumps
20 Crunches
10 Butt-ups
00 Squat Thrusts
Run 1 lap

Round 3:
30 Push-ups or Kneeling Push-ups
20 Squat Jumps
10 Crunches
00 Butt-ups
Run 1 lap

Round 4:
20 Push-ups or Kneeling Push-ups
10 Squat Jumps
00 Crunches
Run 1 lap

Round 5:
10 Push-ups or Kneeling Push-ups
Run 1 lap

Enjoy!

Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

Impromptu Heavy Bag Workout 8/17

Stuck in Pennsylvania.

Coverage of the World Track & Field Championships just ended for the day and its only 3 PM.

Beth went on a run before we head to our gym for a workout this evening.

I thought about taking a nap.

But having just been inspired by watching coverage of Usain Bolt's World Record 100M and due to the fact that I gassed out big-time last I sparred in Muay Thai I decided to do a quick impromptu workout.

I dragged a heavy bag out of the garage at our townhome and into the backyard. Tossed it down on the lawn and after a brief warm-up I completed 5 rounds for time of the following:

12 Burpees (chest to bag with push-up and 6" jump)
12 Bag Jumps (jump over the the bag)
12 Push-ups with hands on the bag
12 Squats with right leg elevated on the bag
12 squats with left lef elevated on the bag
12 Crunches on the bag
Sprint 100 M
Jog back 100M

5 total rounds of this going about 80% in the 90 degree heat took me 19:09.63. However I was smoked at the end. You don't need either a gym membership, fancy equipment nor hours of time invested to do workouts that will get you lean, ripped and super-fit. Use what ya got and just kick your own ass a few times each week. That's the key.

Not exactly my best effort(usually around 14 :30 to 15:30 for this workout) but then again now that I have had a recovery shake and a turkey sandwich it's off to visit Snap Fitness ~ Greensburg for kettlebell and ab work!

Train smarter baby!

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

Interval Training Routines from Ross

Ross Enamait ~ Fitness Trainer

I train with 2 distinct purposes ~ first, to improve my Muay Thai fighting skills and second, like everyone else to be lean and ripped. The very best way to accomplish both of these is through interval training.

Being a CrossFit Certified Level 1 Trainer and a CrossFit Run Endurance Trainer I use a lot of CrossFit workouts for my own conditioning. But I also use a lot of stuff from Ross Boxing. Ross Enamait is a world-class conditioning coach who trains fighters and like me, believes in keeping training plans simple yet productive.

Here are a couple of workouts he created back in 2003 that have become favorites of mine as well as his thoughts on interval training. Here's Ross...

Traditional interval training consists of intense running followed by a period of active rest (ex. jogging or walking). Common distances include 200, 400, 600 and 800 meters. The active rest period typically ranges from 30 to 90 seconds depending on interval distance and the athlete’s condition. The Interval Challenge (below) differs from the traditional interval training protocol.

The workout integrates interval running with a variety of bodyweight calisthenics. There are no defined rest periods between intervals. The athlete attempts to complete the circuit as fast as possible. Rest comes on an as needed basis. When performing The Interval Challenge, the athlete must complete four continuous circuits. This brief conditioning routine is extremely demanding (physically and mentally).

The Interval Challenge Complete four circuits consisting of the following:

12 Burpees
24 Pushups
36 Bodyweight Squats
400-Meter Run

The Interval Challenge Part II

You can incorporate variety into the challenge by reducing the interval distance from 400-meters to 200-meters. The workout below requires six complete circuits. The 200-meter intervals should be performed at near-sprint speeds.

Complete six circuits consisting of the following:

6 Burpees
12 Pushups
24 Bodyweight Squats
200-Meter Run

When attempting these routines, be prepared for a mental challenge. Force yourself to complete the routines as fast as possible. You will develop an indomitable will, while building unstoppable endurance. You can perform 2 to 3 "challenges" per week (depending on your remaining workload). Do not perform either routine on consecutive days.

Try these workouts ONLY if you want to improve your anaerobic conditioning as well as your aerobic conditioning AND want to be lean, fit and ripped. They are metabolic monsters that I love to torture myself with regularly.

A twist is I will see just how many "challenges" I can complete in 20 minutes rather than do the set number of circuits. The following week I'll try to get a little more done in 20 minutes.

I guarantee if you add these to your routine once each week you will get much more ripped than the folks wasting time ~ and money ~ at the gym. They work equally well for both guys and gals. Best of all... NO GYM is needed.

Fit Coach Phil
Beach Bodz Fitness

Card Deck Workout

Here's one of our "Beach Bodz Card Deck" Workouts. The group will be doing this one on Monday August 17th at our 6 AM Boot Camp....

Bring Yoga mat / large towel and water

Start with a Group Warm-up followed by some light stretching.

Group will form a large circle WITH their Yoga mats in front of them. We will then proceed to run through a deck of cards. Rest for 2 minutes after each round is completed with a full deck.

For 2-9 multiply x 10 seconds. That is how long you will be doing the exercise.
For all face cards the exercise will be done for 60 seconds.
Jokers are run cards.

When a Joker is pulled the whole group runs a down and back lap. Run is by ability group. Beginners – run half of the field length and back. Intermediate and advanced - run a full lap down and back. Everyone back to the circle after the run.

Round 1

Spades = Crunches *
Clubs = Burpees
Diamonds = 6” Jump Squats
Hearts = Push-ups

Round 2

Spades = Alternating Step Lunges
Clubs = Spider-Mans
Diamonds = Alternating Step Squats
Hearts = Butt-Ups

Round 3

Spades = Lying Hip Raises
Clubs = Staggered Hand Push-ups
Diamonds = Knees-to-Elbows Crunches
Hearts = Run in Place Butt Kicks

* We'll substitute the Front Plank with Alternating Knee Touch in place of all Crunches for 2nd and 3rd trimester gals.

Why Avoid Foods Labeled "Fat-Free"?

Many people looking to lose weight end up choosing fat free cookies, cakes, and ice-cream.

This is a mistake because often the number 1 ingredient in these foods is sugar.Sugar is often the #1 culprit in someone failing to lose the weight they desire.

Sugar actually inhibits fat release. Here is how:

When you put a simple sugar into your body, whether it is a fat free cookie or a soft drink, all of the sugar quickly gets absorbed into the bloodstream.

That leads to a state of elevated blood sugar.

In healthy individuals, the pancreas releases the hormone insulin which transports the sugar out of the bloodstream to be stored in the muscles and liver.

The pancreas also manufactures the hormone glucagon. As the pancreas increases production of insulin (from eating simple sugars) it decreases the production of glucagon.

Why is this relevant? Well glucagon releases fat. So when you eat a simple sugar, you cannot produce glucagon and your fat is locked in, unable to be released.

Remember, eat 4-6 small meals each day consisting of quality complex carbs, fibrous carbs and lean quality protein while avoiding simple sugars and overly-processed carbs.

This is the KEY to dropping the excess body fat and keeping it off! We suggest you give EFA Icon a try if you want to burn fat, be healthy and regulate blood sugar levels! This super-pill is a combination of the highest-quality essential fatty acids available PLUS powerful anti-oxidants.

Learn more here....

http://fit8343.getprograde.com/essential-fatty-acid.html

"Roll the Dice" Boot Camp Workout

Here is a simple way you can put more fun into your training plan: try "Roll the Dice" Boot Camp Workouts.

These can be done indoors or outdoors, with other people or alone and can even be done with no equipment.

Your options are limitless!

Take 6 pieces of paper and write down a different exercise on each along with the number of repetitions you want to do. Keep the reps in the moderate range as you will be moving pretty much continuously for 10-15 minutes.

Here is an example of a bodyweight routine:

1. Push Ups x 20 reps

2. Dips x 20 reps

3. Step-Ups x 20 reps

4. Squat thrusts x 15 reps

5. Squats x 30 reps

6. Alternating Lunges x 20 reps

Give each exercise a number 1 thru 6.

Perform 50 jumping jacks. Then take a pair of dice and roll them. Whatever 2 numbers come up, you have to perform the corresponding exercises.

After you do the 2 exercises, go back to the 50 jumping jacks and roll the dice again.

Do 2 rounds of 10-15 minutes each with a 2 minute break in-between for a killer at-home workout.

You may also choose to do this with weighted exercises like we often do.

Here is one I have previously done with Kettlebells only...

1. Kettlebell Swings x 15

2. Kettlebell High Pulls x 20

3. Kettlebesll Push-Press x 15

4. Kettlebell Row x 10 each side

5. Kettlebell Squats x 25

6. Kettlebell Thrusters x 15

Upper Body Postural Correction

If you sit all day - or for a good portion of the day - and are starting to feel your shoulders get rounded forward try doing Scarecrows a couple of times throughout the day.

To do Scarecrows (aka Wall Slides) stand with your feet about 6" away from a wall. Lean back so your upper back is against the wall Put your hands in the 'goal post' position with a 90 degree bend at the elbow.

Reach up overhead by extending the arm and keep the EVERYTHING flush against the wall. Your upper back, shoulders and arms should be in contact with the wall at all times.

Do 15-20 of these a few times each day and you will start to notice a difference in your posture after just a few days.