Planking – Not the exercise
So yesterday night, Candy Ryan and I watched the new Office episode. It talked about the new trend of planking in random places. Of course I was upset to realize that by planking they didn’t mean this:
But this:
This second version could, I guess, really work your core depending on how and where you decided to plank, but still…I was sad to find out people weren’t exercising in random places.
I’ve decided Man Bicep should start a new trend…push ups in random places!!! haha Maybe we will try to start this one today…. đ
Happy Birthday to My Man Bicep Sister
Happy Birthday Candy! In celebration, Candy and I will be spinning and doing yoga today. Yoga…uhm…
I haven’t done yoga in a while. And I should be doing it more often…like almost once a week.
While I don’t think yoga should be the only workout that you ever do, it does have some great benefits!
Here are some benefits:
1. Improved flexibility.
2. Improved strength – Holding warrior one (aka a low lunge) or doing a chataranga (not sure if that is worded correctly but it is essentially a push up) isn’t easy! How could holding a lunge or doing a push up not make you stronger?
3. Improved posture – Stronger and more flexible muscles = better posture.
4. Improved lung capacity – Yoga focuses on deep breathing which can help you relax and increase your lung capacity.
5. Improved mental state – Yoga will help you relax. It will also teach you to relax while holding uncomfortable positions. This is, in my opinion, the second biggest benefit besides improved flexibility. I’ve found that most of my clients give up mentally before their bodies actually have to. Yoga teaches you to be mentally stronger. It can really help you push through those last painful reps during a weight workout.
Ok so enough about the benefits of yoga. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAST JR.!!!
Top 10 Leg Exercises (that Candy and I now hate)
So yesterday Candy and I did a leg workout. The last two leg workouts we have done have absolutely murdered our leg muscles.
Here are the 10 best (most tortuous) leg exercises (in no particular order because all can be equally dreadful):
1. Heavy Back Squat (Candy’s least favorite)- There is something about putting a heavy barbell on your back and having to squat down and stand back up that is just fear inducing. I’m always afraid I won’t be able to stand back up…which has happened before.
The Back Squat is a full leg workout, primarily targeting your glutes, quads and hamstrings as well as your adductors, abductors and calf muscles. Your erect0r spinae as well as your transverse abdominus are also engaged so you are working your entire core too! A great first exercise to do! Yesterday we did 5 sets of 5, increasing weight with each set.
2. Cocktail Lunges – Cocktail lunges are a front and back lunge combined. You lunge forward and then backwards, trying to not tap your foot down in the middle. A forward and backwards lunge is one rep. The front lunge and back lunge do both work your entire leg and the stabilizer muscles in your hips, torso and spine. However, your quad is the primary mover in both so you really burn out the quad by combining the two lunges into one rep!
For an extra burn, complete all reps on one side before switching to the other leg. Candy and I did 10 reps on each side before switching (one rep is one forward and one rear lunge). We added some weights to make it even more of a challenge!
3. Slider Side Lunges – Let the adductor machine gather dust and pick up a slider instead! Place one foot on the slider and one on the ground parallel to your foot on the slider. Slide the slider away keeping that leg straight as you bend the standing leg and squat down. When you stand, drag the slider back in keeping the leg straight. As Brian says, “It feels like my groin is ripping!!!”
4. Step Ups – I don’t know why…but I absolutely hate these. Like cocktail lunges, they always make me out of breath. They are simple. Pick a tall box (a challenging height) and step up. If the box is higher, it will also isolate the hamstrings more (but don’t make the box too high…you want it to be about knee height). And if you start farther away from the box, you will work your glutes more. When you step up, tap the other foot on top and climb back down. Isolate one leg first. Add some weight and increase the challenge!!
5. One leg squats (to bench or with TRX) – So the goal here is a pistol squat…no bench…no TRX…just a one leg squat as low as you can go. Candy and I both need a little assistance especially since this isn’t usually the first exercise we do. This is a great full leg workout. It makes you work extra hard too because you have to maintain your balance. AND by isolating one leg, you can make sure that each leg is doing the full amount of work instead of one leg dominating!
6. Kettlebell Swing – KB swings are supposed to be the absolute BEST exercise for your back side. After doing one round yesterday, I wanted to take the kettlebell and let it fly out a window. I usually like KB Swings, but yesterday they were brutal and today my butt is very very sore. So if you want a nice butt…do kettlebell swings.
7. TRXÂ Hamstring Curls – We love to hate these. They destroy your hamstrings and you just want to be done with them. Ten times better than the leg curl machine for you!
8. Split Squat Jumps – We did these today. You start in a lunge position then jump up and land in a lunge on the other side. If you do them quickly and get low, split squat jumps are cardiovascular and really burn your legs.
Want some lean legs? Then definitely do these plyos.
9. Preacher Squats (aka Pitcher Squats, Bulgarian split squats or Balance Lunges) – Brian always wants to skip these. He has weak quads and preacher squats really really work the quads. Enough said.
10. Jump Squats -Squating and jumping. A plyometric exercise that will help you develop lean and powerful legs. What could be better?!?
Runners Up: Wall sit, Box Jumps, Air Squats, Front Squats, Plie Squat (Sumo Squat)Â and box shuffle.
Deadlift didn’t make the list because it is so much more than just a leg exercise. It is the Man Bicep Move!!! You can torture your glutes, hamstrings, traps, back and core with the deadlift!!!
Pictures from California
Paddle Boarding - My Man Bicep Pose
Ryan and his mom
Bike riding on day 2
That was the good…now for the bad…
My Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
The Side Street Cinnamon Roll that we ate before I could remember to take a picture.
Yummy margaritas and guacamole.
The Chimichanga that was the end of me.
And that basically outlines the entire trip aside from the lounging at the pool! đ
Being Primal – Easier in Warm Weather?
So Mark Sisson in his Primal Blueprint recommends that you “play” a certain amount each day. And he defines play as something active aka not watching TV. He wants you to get outside and do something that is defined as “active leisure.”
Which in theory is great.
BUT that isn’t easy in a place that doesn’t stay warm for more than two months especially if you aren’t that fond of the cold. At least I haven’t found it that easy to be extra active during the winter time, which means active play (especially outdoors) is usually restricted to the warm weather (which in Boston is about two months out of the year).
You can go skiing and try to do some indoor sports, but these things aren’t necessarily readily available in Boston nor are they necessarily easily affordable for everyone. They aren’t near as accessible as say outdoor activities are in California all year around.
Which makes me want to move to California because it is sooooo freaking easy to live an active, primal lifestyle. You can go bike riding and swimming and paddle boarding (which I’m obsessed with). You can play basketball or baseball or Ultimate (which Mark is obsessed with). Or you can simply go for a stroll outside all year around!
So I ask myself…if I love the Primal lifestyle, “Do I need to move some place that is warm all year around?” How can I be more active during the cold winters here other than just working out a ton, which I already do?
Man Bicep Mom – Bonding
Here is another post by the Man Bicep Mom!
I was a lucky kid. My dad loved doing things with my sister and me. We washed cars, raked leaves and exercised.
I loved it! What could be better â exercise and being with my dad!
My father got us involved in competitive sports while I was in elementary school. I was a speed skater (ice skater) during the winter and a tennis player during the summer.
Competing in sports outside of school was pretty unusual for girls of my generation. But I loved it! It made me feel so good. I immediately felt those endorphins at work.
My dad designed training workouts for us. Now remember, these were the days before the computer and all the study into exercise physiology. My dad was very innovative and actually quite progressive. He had us pushing furniture, which he had put on wood runners, around the basement. As we pushed, we yelled, “Push-em-magonga.”
We had so much fun! I have such fond memories. Thanks Dad!
At some point, while I trained and competed and laughed with my dad, I decided that I wanted to do the same thing with my kids when I had them. I knew that my father and I had done more than just train and compete in a sport. We had done some big time bonding. I could talk to my dad about anything, and I did. This relationship has continued throughout my adult life. My dad and I are best friends.
So did I follow through on my resolve? I did. I took my daughters, Cori and Drew, out to the tennis court when they were only 3 years old. We would hit tennis balls for 15 minutes and then go play on the playground. The joke was that I preferred to play tennis over Barbie dolls.
We played tennis, swam, rode bikes, hiked, raked leaves and washed cars. And we talked – a lot. We talked about everything. Conversation was easy and natural. We did some big time bonding.
And the outcome? Well, Cori went on to play Division I tennis in college and is now your Man Bicep guru. Drew decided she preferred music to tennis and switched to dance for her exercise. But in high school she decided to join the tennis team and greatly enjoyed the experience. Even though she is a musician, Drew continues to exercise.
When we all get together we play tennis, go for long walks and do a lot of talking. We are all best friends.
So, my message here is â be active with your kids. You don’t have to be involved in competitive sports. Just get your kids exercising. Go for walks. Take them to the gym with you. It’s great bonding time! And maybe, just maybe, you’ll turn them on to exercise as a way of life.
Boo for Back to the Grind
Today is the last day of outdoor fun and warm weather. Tonight we head back to Boston, which seems to already have been hit by cool fall weather.
It is so much harder to live an active “primal” lifestyle in a place that isn’t warm year around. More about that tomorrow though.
For now…check out this post about self experimentation on Mark’s Daily Apple. It backs up my Experimentation post.
Baked Goods and Biking and Paddle Boarding…Oh My!
So yesterday I rode a real bike for the first time in like 8 years…and I got a flat tire about 5 miles into the ride. BOO!
Luckily we were down at the beach and a very short walk from the place where we were going to go paddle boarding in the harbor. Ryan, his mom and I all went. It was a ton of fun! AND Ryan’s mom stood up like two seconds into our trip! I have wonderful pictures that I’ll have to post later once I get them developed. I bought a waterproof disposable camera (haven’t used one of those in FOREVER)…it was probably a very good thing I bought one of those considering my luck with the flat tire!
After our bike ride and hour of paddle boarding, I came back and baked for Ryan’s birthday. I made Red Velvet cupcakes and Carrot Cake cupcakes. They looked BEAUTIFUL if I do say so myself! I have pictures of them also which I’ll upload later. My baked goods will keep Ryan and I from ever becoming too thin. And after a long month of dieting and a very active day, the baked goods were well deserved! đ
And this morning, because Ryan and I are both still on East Coast time, we were up way before anyone else. So we went for another bike ride. (I’m super obsessed now with bike riding!!!) We went for a wonderful 12 mile ride around the Back Bay.
This is where we rode. BEAUTIFUL!
So now, tired after the bike ride with a slightly sore butt, we are planning to go to this DELICIOUS (and very unhealthy) breakfast place called Side Street Cafe. The cinnamon rolls are to die for and, I feel, very well deserved after the ride! đ
Can you make yourself love working out?
Sometimes (with a strong lean toward “no”).
Yep only sometimes. Some people just don’t like exercise. They just don’t like sweating or pushing themselves or being uncomfortable. Some people just don’t enjoy it and never will.
BUT you can be motivated to keep coming back for more!
Most of the articles you read about getting motivated to workout tell you to find a type of exercise that you do enjoy…Zumba, weight training, walking, tennis…But what if you just don’t enjoy any type of physical activity enough to do it as exercise? And there are people out there who don’t “like” any form of exercise!
What I tell clients is to find a way to make the idea of working out more palatable.
Like with running for me. I just don’t enjoy running long distances…especially on the treadmill. I just get too bored. BUT if I run with someone and even chat, I find the activity way more fun. I still don’t like running, but I do LOVE talking (just ask Candy…or Brian.) The companionship of running with someone gets me to run.
Lois admitted to me the other day that she just doesn’t like to sweat. But she keeps coming back for more each and every week. I don’t think it is because she has fallen in love with working out (although I do think she enjoys rowing), but I think it is because she and I have developed a relationship. She pushes herself to go to the gym because she logically knows it is good for her and she keeps coming back because she enjoys spending time with someone she considers a “friend.”
I think one of my new clients Maxima is the same way. She enjoys the banter we have during the workouts. It makes exercise something she can tolerate even though she has admitted to me on numerous occasions that she just doesn’t like working out!
So don’t give up if there isn’t a type of exercise that you like. That isn’t an excuse to not workout!!!!
Here are 5 ways to make the idea of exercise more fun!! They are in no particular order.
1. Buy yourself some cute clothes that you want to show off at the gym. And if you keep to a routine all month, reward yourself with a new outfit.
2. Work with a trainer! Not only will they create a program for you, but they will also provide you with entertainment during your workout. Especially if you work with me or Brian…we can be pretty big goofballs.
3. Workout with a friend. If you don’t have a friend, pay a trainer to be yours for the hour.
4. Try a class and make some friends. Think of classes as a time to meet people and make friends. It will make the class more fun!
5. Experiment. Make working out a game. Try all of the workouts in the fitness magazines. See what seems to be the hardest or the best or the most torturous. Then maybe start a blog about it! đ
There seems to be one great way to make exercising something you don’t dread…make it a social activity!!! đ
How do you make exercising fun?
Rest
When people talk about exercising and getting great results, they often don’t often mention “rest.” But getting enough rest is really key to getting the results you want.
Rest is when the body repairs and strengthens itself. Every time you workout, you break down your muscles. If you don’t rest, they won’t rebuild and get stronger. If you don’t give your body enough rest, you may be hindering your own progress!
The reason I’m even thinking about “rest” right now is because I’m going on vacation on Wednesday. Sometimes it takes a vacation to get me to take a few days off from working out/lifting. I don’t like not working out!
And I don’t mean that I won’t workout or be active over my vacation. I just mean I won’t lift weights. Rest doesn’t have to mean being a couch potato (even though that can be fun sometimes too!). Active rest can be just as effective if not more so at times.
Give your body a break from the usual grind. For me it means backing off the weights for more than a day or two. It means nice easy rides along the beach, paddle boarding and hikes. It means maybe doing only one crossfit outside in the California sun (mostly just because I love working up a sweat in the sun)!
So remember, working out super hard in the gym is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to take some time off. If you aren’t seeing the results you want, take a look at how many days you’ve taken off recently. Lack of rest may be the issue!!
Man Bicep 