Challenge Workouts

It appears that I’ve ruffled some feathers….

That’s fine, I just want to clarify a few things. Below you’ll find more controversy regarding a nasty email series I received, how to protect shoulders when using the KB, , my stand on NOT eating breakfast and a great example of someone living life right…

Here you go:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

I recently had a disheartening email and asked you for your opinion about it here.

I was overwhelmed with your support and positive feedback. I understand that the person that made the comment was likely having a bad day and lashed out at me. Thank you again for your feedback. My goal is really to motivate, educate and generally help others become more active and healthy.

My team was equally upset with that email and created this picture that’s been floating around. Again, I’ve personally received a great deal of both positive and negative feedback.

If you feel that there are ‘NO EXCUSES’ for not taking care of YOUR health, feel free to post, share or otherwise use social media to motivate others to get moving. If you’re on Facebook, you’ll find it all over. You’ll find it on my personal page and fan page here.

I understand that this picture may offend some, YOU know my intentions.  I’ll take the flack if some get upset because for the one person that makes a stink, there may be one person that actually makes a positive change in their life. That’s worth it. My back is pretty strong and skin is getting thicker.

Question: I’ve been doing a lot of upper body work and my shoulders are feeling really sore. I’m not sure I can handle any of the KB work you’ve been talking about lately. Any suggestions?

Answer: If your shoulders are super sore, you need to check your form on your KB movements. I defer to my KB expert and friend, Chris Lopez. He’s helped me tremendously with the KB work that I’ve done. He’s got a new program out that I really love.  KB Finishers are great for everyone, but especially for beginning KB lovers. If you’re not a full on KB nut (like him), you can introduce KB moves into your workout in short bursts. Check out a few of his instructional videos. SO helpful!

To summarize what Chris says: Hard style swings use more of the hips, the swing is NOT a squat exercise, rather it’s really just a hip hinge. The goal is to get the back parallel to the ground. Focus on ensuring that you brace the core to maintain an arch in the back, never hunch forward or ‘lose the shoulders’. Pack the shoulders or keep them down and back throughout the movement. Tighten the glutes or drive the butt back as you swing, think about punching a hole in the wall as you push the butt backwards and squeeze the glutes at the top of the movement. The KB needs to be a projection of the arms so that the bottom of the bell is facing forwards.

Chris shows you how to properly set up for the snatch and how to protect your shoulder while doing so. Chris also says that the important thing for shoulder health is to actively bring the kettlebell down instead of letting it fall so that you’re firing your lat from the get-go.

To learn more about Kettlebell Finishers, check out this link. You’ll see a great sale on until Friday, Nov 29, 2013.

This week I received this email from a loyal reader ‘Rick’. I really appreciate his humor and support. Kudos to him for maintaining his health by keeping his priorities in check. He actively resistance trains and obviously maintains a healthy diet (with the exception of his Thanksgiving dinner as you’ll see…)

A big THANK YOU to Rick for allowing me to share his story on the blog:

Just happened upon your recent post (8 Tips from NYC)  which included nice reflections on the wonderful (and the occasional-mildly-bizarre) events of a NYC trip with a delightful daughter. “New York, New York a city so nice they had to name it twice”. At times it is so nice.

Last week a young 8 year old drum student I teach, appalled when finding out from his Mom I was 65, voiced his concern (to this man obviously from the Jurassic age) by sort of yelping, “But Mr. Rick, how do you feel?!”  I replied ” Just GREAT! After all, it’s different now then it was for my parents generation, now days 65 is the new 63!” This didn’t mean anything to him, but his Mom, surreptitiously listening to us, was laughing and coughing up a storm in the kitchen.

Given that someone is fortunate enough to have a working, healthy body free of major issues, the concerns about ‘staying in shape’ and how to go about exercising shift a little. It does seem to be that, the two most important concerns to my physical being at 65 are: Range of motion, range of motion, range of motion and lung capacity/breath support stamina. Looking good (and enjoying looking) are still much appreciated. Resistance training, weight lifting still very important in this realm, but now the emphasis is on overall health and vitality.

And all of this is addressed by what you demonstrate and teach.

Hooray by Jove! And many thank you’s.

Time and the passage of it seems to be a topic my peer group finds more intriguing each year. So, in that vein:

Just received this photo attached to an email. It was taken during a performance of the US Navy Show Band somewhere in Peru, Nov. 1970. The skinny drummer is me.

 

This recent shot is of the same guy, cleaning an ear of corn. Taken in Gainesville, FL Nov. 2013.

Evidently I sent you a pic last year. I must like imposing upon you. {Not at all Rick!}

The Thanksgiving Holiday is heading into view for us down here. And I do like turkey. And stuffing. With gravy. Yes, indeed. Not to mention the butter drenched biscuits and rolls and lord a new bean casserole some remaining Aunt so and so cooked up and look thesweetpotatoesandcranberrysauceandyesapecanpieandwhatthehellisthatLARGE APPLE PIE WITH Vanilla Ice Cream DOING ON THE TABLE?…HELP!

Rick

Question: How do I fit your Challenge Burpee and Challenge Jump Rope workouts in with my own workouts? My workouts are already 60+ min.   Mike

Answer: First of all, I think your workouts are a little long to add more. Doing 60+ min is too long to add a burpee or jump rope workout on the end so don’t add a burpee or jump rope workout to what you’re already doing for an hour. My suggestion is to do a burpee or jump rope workout once or twice a week on their own. Include a warm up and cool down and it should round out to be about a 20 minute workout. Go with gusto!

On other days, I’m not sure how much rest you include in each of your 60+ workouts, but if you want to increase fitness drastically, you can lower rest time while trying to maintain workout density (as much work as before).

My theory is that if you’re going 110%, you can’t maintain that intensity for long. I suggest increasing intensity and cutting your workout time back. It may be a little much to ask you to go to 20-30 minute workouts at first, but maybe you could try 40 minutes with increased intensity. Hopefully once you learn how you can throttle your workouts to increase the intensity, you’ll save time and have a super quick efficient workout.

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Question: I recently lost almost 30 lbs on a low carb style diet. I’m having a hard time Read the rest of this entry »

Question: I bought your burpee and jump rope programs and after sitting on my ass for a while have finally made the decision to execute!
I also have all the finisher programs from Mike Whitfield.
If buying programs got you in shape I would be a superstar, but we both know that is not the case! My question is in starting back do you recommend wearing a heart monitor (I am heart healthy) and staying in target training zones or do you just work to pace and how you feel in the moment! I would think to get the HITT benefit you can’t worry with target training zones. Marty

Answer: Marty, Good for you for executing! You’re right, getting programs is easy, it’s the application that’s tough but you’ve made the first step.

As for the heart rate monitor, I sometimes train with one out of curiosity. I like to check out my heart rate, what my body can tolerate, my progress, etc. I’m sort of strange like this. I write everything down and sort of make a science of it. If you’re like this, a heart rate monitor can be really helpful to monitor your progress. It only measures ONE aspect of fitness though, so it’s not really THAT necessary for the average heart healthy person. Perceived exertion is typically good enough for the majority. I like to keep it simple for clients and say NO, a heart rate monitor is NOT necessary since it would give another reason not to workout.

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Question: I’ve been using your workouts for a while now. I notice that you go very deep when you squat and I can’t get anywhere near even parallel. It’s like I just don’t bend. What can I do? Read the rest of this entry »

Question: Hi Shawna, I have a concern that i just can’t find any satisfaction from. My legs. I have knee and other joint problems but still manage to perform lots of leg exercises. I work out at home and have some free weights, as well as a bowflex. My legs show no sign of definition whatsoever, and my hamstrings and glutes seem to be falling.. literally. I know age will play a factor (i’m 38) but i noticed this started to happen a long time ago. I try hard to keep a balance in my workouts (to NOT do my legs too much) but I still find that i have had ZERO results when it comes to my legs. My arms and abs are somewhat defined but I’m devastated for my legs. Can you suggest anything? Thank you in advance! Jennifer

Answer: Jennifer, Legs are an issue with women more than men, and your particular genetics play into it. Some women carry more fat on their chest and have thinner legs, some carry belly fat, etc. You seem to carry in the lower body.

So, nutrition is VERY important. Diet is the key to getting results once you dial in your training. Training must be intense and short (30 min or less). Don’t fall into the trap of ‘cardio’, do Challenge Fat Loss style quick and nasty workouts.

Don’t let age be an excuse either. You will still see results if you’re persistent.

Remember that you CAN NOT spot reduce. Sadly, fat will come off where your body wants it to first. For you that may be upper body/abs, then the legs. It is what it is, accept it and don’t get discouraged.

Having said this, you can really bash your legs and unless you’re feeling knee pain, you’re fine, don’t worry about ‘over training’ when you’re doing short and intense workouts like Challenge Fat Loss. you can also increase load on the legs, for any loaded movements, increase your DB or intensity on the TRX etc. Work the eccentric portion of the movements to increase strength/muscle development. Increased muscle means increased metabolism. you should NOT be ‘bulking’ in the legs, if you are, this is due to diet.

The beauty of the burpee is that you can burn up a ton of calories in a short time while working over 13 muscles at once. You can do burpees anywhere, it’s a fast and effective fat burning exercise that’s fun.

Here’s a great hamstring focused burpee routine:

Do AMRAP style (as many rounds as possible):
5 one legged burpees (or two legged if you need)
5 one leg RDL to reverse lunge
5 squat jumps
Don’t forget the other leg!

This is a FAST, fat burning workout that will boost your metabolism for hours after you’re done, unlike low intensity cardio (like jogging) where your calorie burning ends with the workout.

Check out Challenge Burpee workouts for more fun workouts just like this.

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Want great legs?

Don’t go for a run, plan to do a marathon or take up jogging.

Jumping rope is FAR more effective, more fun and is easier on your body. Surprisingly your knees will love jumping rope more than running too. Especially when you do a double jump (or jump on two feet) because there’s less impact.

You can do quick effective fat burning workouts with a jump rope and you’ll find you get the body of your dreams much faster than if you take to a running trail.

Challenge Jump Rope workouts help tighten and tone your legs, period.