Calorie Killing Circuit- Tabata Style!

Hi Everyone,
Well I am back after a 3 week layoff from the blog world. I guess the bottom line is I just didn't really have anything to exciting to write about? But, I am OK with that, because I would rather post some really good content, than just put up a bunch of crap just to say I posted something new.

Today I have for you a major Calorie Killing workout, Tabata style!! Check out this video, then give it a try.



Peace,
Scott



This is a Tabata style circuit designed to kill major calories. Perform each exercise for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. Take 1 min rest at the end of each circuit then repeat for a total of 5 rounds!!

Getting Better Every Day!!

Hey Everyone,
I hope you had a great weekend. After an incredible personal training staff retreat on Friday I started my week off feeling invigorated, re-charged, and re-focused!! I had a very productive day followed by an awesome workout and 1 mile jog with my son. So, I though I would share with you what we do to getter better, and build an incredible team.

This year our retreat started with an "Amazing Race" themed road rally. All 50 personal trainers, small group trainers and pilates instructors were broken into 4 teams, then they had to race through 3 different locations completing both mental and physical team building challenges at each stop. The race concluded with the teams finding their way to the "secret" retreat location...... Camp Kulaqua. The last team to arrive would be the penalty team. This year the penalty team would have to make lunch for all of the trainers, and for a little bit of fun we had to compose and perform a rap song......... you may have noticed I said "we", because my team was the penalty team. In 10 years, this is my first time being on the penalty team, and believe it or not it was a blast!!

Once at Camp Kulaqua the teams took part in a low elements challenge course. This was followed by a little free time in the springs catapulting fellow trainers off the "blob" into the springs. Next was penalty team time. We had to prep and serve salads and sandwiches for everyone. Once lunch was complete it was our time to take the stage and perform our rap song. It was a hit!!..... if I do say so myself:) Stay tuned to future blogs for the video I will be putting together.

Awards time!! This part is always fun. In the month leading up to the retreat we polled the trainers to find winners for various awards such as: Most Improved, Most intimidating, Life Saver, Loudest, Hardest working, Most creative, Spunkiest, Most unpredictable, Most likely to go into politics, and finally The Trainer of the Year Award which went to Rod Clark. Very well deserved.

Now it was time for out "Minute to win it" team challenges. These were games that we had to compete against each other based on the TV show "Minute to win" We completed 11 or 12 games. (which will also be in the upcoming video) The winning team was awarded the coveted screaming chicken in a boot.

After a day like that I was excited to get back to training on Monday. I had a great workout (see below), then went home and played football and baseball with Jacob followed by a 1 mile run as Jacob road his bike next to me.

So, with all that said. I leave you today with maybe a not so simple question. What are you going to do this week to get better? It doesn't matter what you will be getting better at. Whether it is your business life, your personal life, your fitness, your nutrition, your education..... As long as your are doing something to get better every day. I will give you 1 hint. It all starts with a plan. It took us a couple months to plan out this team building retreat, but it was without a doubt worth the time, energy, and investment!!

So good luck, and to get you started on Getting Better here is Mondays Killer workout!

A1. Single arm kettle bell (KB) clean (or dumbbell)
A2. Cable single leg romanian dead lift with a single are row
A3. Reverse crunch

B1. Step up with a bicep curl
B2. KB sumo dead lift
B3. Stability ball plank roll out

C1. Lunge with rotational medicine ball toss
C2. Stability ball triple play (bridge, ham curls, and glut press)
C3. Stability ball russian twist.

So, again, what are you going to do this week to get better? Leave me a comment below and let me know.
Scott

Behind the Scenes of the NSCA National Convention 2010

Hey Everyone,
Today I have a short video for you that I made "Live" from the NSCA National Convention in Orlando , Fl.

I have blogged in the past about the importance of "sharpening your saw". So far this is the 5th seminar/ workshop that I have been to in 2010, so, my saw should stay sharp for at least the next couple of months:)

This short video is for you the client to see how the top personal trainers from around the country spend their weeks, and weekends to continually stay on top of their game.

Enjoy!

MTS of the Week- 7/3/2010

Hey Everyone,
I hope you all are having a good start to your Holiday weekend. I am enjoying the day before my birthday watching an incredible World Cup match-up between Argentina and Germany. So far Germany is leading 1 to nill!

This week I want to share with you a great circuit interval workout focusing on the CHEST and SHOULDERS.

A1. Dumbbell(DB) Chest press
A2. DB Iron Cross (front raise to lateral lowering)
A3. Suspension Push-up (TRX)
A4. Posterior fly (cable machine)
A5. Hanging knee-ups
A6. 1 min power interval on the concept rower (looking for highest average watts in the min.)

B1. Machine Pec fly
B2. Machine posterior fly
B3. DB lateral raise
B4. 1/4 cardio interval

Complete 10 reps of each exercise. Go through each circuit 3 times with 60- 90 sec. rest between circuits. The workout should take between 60-90 min depending on rest periods.

Good Luck, enjoy, and leave me your comments.

Scott

Killer Kettle Bells: Power, Endurance Ladder Circuit

Hey Everyone,
Today I wanted to share with you a killer kettle bell workout that takes Power and Endurance to a whole new level.

WARNING: This workout is not for the weak at heart!!!!

One of the things that keeps me fresh and motivated as a personal trainers is actually being "trained" myself sometimes. When you look around the fitness industry and the industry of personal training specifically, a common thread you will see of your "Top" personal trainers is that they either work out with other personal trainers as training partners or they will actually hire a personal trainer themselves at some point in their career.

Fortunately for me, we have surrounded ourselves at Gainesville Health and Fitness with incredibly talented personal trainers! And for the past 2 or 3 months I have been making it a point to take Brandon Rosin's "Kettle Bell Basics" class as often as possible.

Wednesday's workout was an absolute killer! I could have ran five miles and still not have taken my heart rate to the level I did today. And this was actually a "Power" workout?

So, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. I highly recommend wearing gloves with this workout to prevent the 2 ripped and bloody calluses that I experienced today:)....(sorry for the graphic image)

This circuit is done as 1 continuous set with rest as needed, but in reality it is 10 sets....don't worry I will explain.

Set 1 is 1 repetition of each exercise, so be sure you select a weight that is pretty heavy for you.
Then go straight into set #2, which will be 2 reps of each exercise, followed by set #3 with 3 reps of each exercise....... by now you should see the pattern.... all the way to the 10th set with 10 reps of each exercise. You will probably have to decrease your weight somewhere around set 5 or 6?

(KB= Kettle Bells. You can use dumbbells in place of KB's if you need to)
1. KB single arm snatch
2. KB single arm clean
3. KB single arm swing
4. KB single arm high pull.

Post- Training Nutrition

Hi Everyone,
Today I have a great guest blog for you from one of the top personal trainers in our industry. Michelle Adams recently did a presentation during our "Master Level" personal trainer course on nutrient timing. It was such an amazing presentation that I really wanted to share a portion of it with you. So I asked Michelle if she could write this blog about post-training nutrition. I know you will enjoy this blog and find it extremely useful........ so, enjoy!

Scott

So you just left all you had on the gym floor—a really intense all out effort aimed toward reaching your ultimate physical goals. Whether it is to lose weight (body fat), gain muscle or bring the biggest, fastest, strongest body to your field of competition. You feel certain that you accomplished this in your training. Well, I hate to rain on your parade, but you are wrong. Your training and your efforts in the gym are actually breaking your body down almost heading you 180 degrees from where you want to be! BUT before you throw your hands up in desperation, let’s look at a way that we can make all of that effort work FOR you….3 words…
post workout nutrition.

Taking in the right nutrients as soon as your training session is complete is the key to turning the environment in your body around- from breaking things down (catabolic) to building and repairing (anabolic). In a post training state (in a healthy body) - muscle cells are very sensitive to insulin and its anabolic effects. Knowing this, we can make the most of this time by providing our body with nutrients we want to immediately supply to your muscle cells. High Glycemic index carbohydrates in conjunction with 100% whey isolate (or whey hydrolysate), branch chain amino acids and anti oxidants can help to guarantee that all of your hard work in the gym actually DOES get you where you want to go. What happens if we DON’T provide those nutrients ?? Great question! Well, the catabolic state created during training continues on. Meaning that you are not rebuilding and repairing the damage to the muscle cells. Even delaying the ingestion of these nutrients by an hour will markedly affect your body’s ability to initiate repair.

To maximize your efforts the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends high glycemic index carbohydrates (such as glucose, sucrose and maltodextrin) whey isolate protein, vitamin C, E and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and magnesium) be present in a post workout shake.

Michelle Adams MPH, CSCS, is a Master Level Personal Trainer and Head Team Leader at Gainesville Health & Fitness. Michelle is also an IFBB Professional Figure competitor. Michelle specializes in Bodybuilding, Fitness, and Figure Contest Prep and off-season training, Weight loss, and increasing lean muscle mass. Michelle has extensive knowledge in sports nutrition among other things. Learn more about Michelle at http://www.ghfc.com/personal_training/trainers/Michelle_Adams/ or http://www.michelleadams.net/

MTS of the Week: Cable Stork Row

Hi Everyone,
I hope you had a great weekend.

The movement of the week is the cable stork row. This is a great exercise that will challenge your balance, hip and core stability, as well as the postural muscles of the upper back.

Give it a try, enjoy, and leave any comments or questions if you like it.

Scott