Fitness

Are You Doing The Best Form of Exercise There Is?

This entry was posted in Fitness Health Lifestyle on by (updated on )

  With so many forms of exercise to choose from, like P90X, Zumba, running, swimming, sports, aerobics, weight training, metabolic conditioning, Yoga, Pilates, bike riding, HIIT, it could make your head spin, and keep us stuck from doing any of it!  Am I right?   There’s probably some of you that aren’t doing any exercise right now because your searching for the “perfect” most effective exercise to do to reach your goals because you don’t really like to exercise…   Don’t worry, I’m going to blow your mind with this one then….The SINGLE BEST FORM of EXERCISE on the planet that you could be doing right now is…..DRUM ROLL PLEASE……WALKING!  (mic drops…crickets chirping…)  I know you were expecting something different, hard, or torturing that will make your muscles burn and your fat melt off!   You’re thinking, “But, Tommie, I already run, lift weights, &/or go to the gym.”  Great! Me, too! […]

How Do I Get Motivated To Go To The Gym?

This entry was posted in Fitness Goals on by

 

Are you sitting there waiting to “feel” motivated to get off the couch and go to the gym? That’s how I felt the other morning. Just Blah….NO Energy….No Inspiration to do ANYTHING, but to sit and stare at my phone! Don’t you wish staring at your FB Feed would energize, motivate, and inspire you? Well, that hasn’t magically happened to me yet!  How about you?

 

 

I think we sometimes think motivation is a feeling that will wash over us and make us want to take action on something, but it’s not. We actually feel motivated when we take ACTION! I knew the other day that the only way to change my emotional state was to workout, even though I didn’t want to.

 

But, I went to the gym anyways. I turned on my gangsta rap, and started my warm up. In less than 5 minutes, I was feeling more energetic and motivated. I went on to complete the Spartan Workout (it’s brutal), and even set a new PR in my Dead Lift. I left the gym in a whole different state of mind and then went on to accomplish my daily tasks with some energy.

 

If I had let my feelings dictate if I went to the gym or not, none of that would have happened, and my day would have gone very different.  Some of the best workouts that I’ve ended up having where on days that I didn’t “feel” like working out!

 

The Lesson

 

You won’t feel more motivated or energetic tomorrow or next week.  We have the power to change our emotional and physical state at any time, and one of the ways to do that is thru physical movement. SO, get your lazy butt off of the couch and MOVE today! I don’t care if it’s for a walk, to dance, or to hit the gym.  DO SOMETHING, and watch your energy increase and you’ll start to feel good!

 

“Motion creates E-Motion!” – Tony Robbins

 

Thanks for Stopping By,
Tommie

 

P.S.  Make sure to sign up HERE for your dose of weekly motivation!  When you sign up, you’ll also receive a copy of my FREE Lean Eating Guide!

The Ten-Four: A Lift Weights Faster Workout

This entry was posted in Fat-Loss Fitness Metabolic Resistance Training Weight-Loss Workouts on by (updated on )

      I know it can be easy to get caught up in the ALL or Nothing mindset of exercise, especially this time of year.  We think if we don’t have a full hour in our day to go to the gym and get a workout in, that we might as well skip it.   However, I’m a true believer that SOMETHING is better than NOTHING!  If you could only do 10 minutes/day, wouldn’t 70 minutes total time in a week be better than 0 minutes, if you did nothing?   That’s why I really like the program my friend, Jen Sinkler, created called Lift Weights Faster.  I’ve been using it a lot lately, especially while I was traveling over the holidays, to stay consistent with my exercise.  There’s workouts ranging from 5 – 30 minutes.  Short, quick, effective, & DONE!   Details on how to purchase the program […]

How to Make a Full Body Workout Routine

This entry was posted in Exercise Fitness Workouts on by (updated on )

  You’ve just signed up for your brand new gym membership & you’re excited to get started on your fitness goals, and then you walk in on your first day and see a gym floor full of equipment, and you have no idea where to start.  It can feel very overwhelming!     You may’ve even watched a few You-Tube videos and kinda know what your doing, but once on the spot, it seems kind of confusing.  All you know is that you want to work on your Abs, and lose some weight.  So what do you do?  Head to the cardio room and do the treadmill for 30 minutes and then do some crunches or use the Ab machine?   Even though you just want to work on your Abs, doing only crunches will not get you a six pack…sorry to be the bearer of bad news.  The more […]

Is This Important Part of Your Workout Missing?

This entry was posted in Exercise Fitness Workouts on by

 

You’ve rushed around to make it to the gym after waking up late, and now you only have 30 minutes to get everything done on your workout routine, so you say to yourself, “I’m going to skip the warm-up and stretch portion, and just get to the good stuff.  I’ll do it tomorrow.”  But tomorrow comes, and the same scenario happens, and before you know it, you’re either really stiff or injured.

 

I can’t stress enough the importance of the Dynamic Warm Up before you jump into your cardio or strength training routine.  I myself skipped this portion of my workout for awhile because I was pressed for time.  Believe me, I regretted doing that when I was injured and not able to workout very hard for many months.  I learned my lesson the hard way, but now you don’t have to!

 

What is a Dynamic Warm Up?

 

The word “Dynamic” just means that you are stretching as you move.  It usually involves engaging more than 1 muscle group at a time and different parts of the body have to work together synergistically to complete the movement.  It has recently been found that this is more beneficial for people to do this while warming up instead of static stretching, which is just holding a stretch for 10-30 seconds.

 

How Does It Help Me?

 

  • Warms up the nervous system and activates a lot of the muscles that you will use together later in your workout, which can improve your strength, power, and performance.
  • Increases the range of motion of the major joints & muscles, which prevents injury and stiffness.  You will be able to move around in your workout with a little more ease.
  • Improves your body awareness and where it’s at in space, which helps with the balance and coordination of your movements
  • It JUST FEELS GOOD.  Don’t feel like working out one day?  Go through your dynamic warm up to get some extra movement & stretching in.

 

How Do I Do It?

 

I filmed a very simple 5 minute Dynamic Warm Up that you can give a try at your next workout.  At my gym, we also incorporate some foam rolling exercises and stretches, as well, but this video keeps it very simple and basic.

 

 

Dynamic Warm Up Exercises

1. Knee Tucks x 10 Ea Side
2. Arm Circles 5x Forwards – 5x Backwards on Ea Arm
3. Reverse Arm Circles Both Arms x 10
4. Alternating Leg Kicks x 10 Ea Side
5. Alternating Reverse Lunges or Step Backs x 10 Ea Side
6. T-Spine Rotation (Kneeling or Runner’s Stretch) x 10 Ea Side
7. Sumo Squats x 10
8. Lateral Lunges x 10 Ea Side
9. High Knees – 30 Seconds
10. Butt Kickers – 30 Seconds
11. Swivel Hips Side to Side – 30 Seconds
12. 20 Jumping Jacks

 

So what do you think?  Could you give yourself 5-10 extra minutes at your next workout to run through these?  This is one part of my workout that I won’t skip anymore after I got injured from neglecting this in my routine.

 

Let me know how it goes & how you feel.  What’s your favorite stretch or exercise is to do in your Warm Up?

 

Thanks for Stopping By,

Tommie

 

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