Workouts

Lift Weights Faster: An Interview with Jen Sinkler

This entry was posted in Fat-Loss Weight-Loss Workouts on by (updated on )

  LISTEN UP! Have you ever found yourself in this scenario? You’ve planned your workout, have your gym bag packed, super motivated to get to the gym, and then THIS happens….   Alarm doesn’t go off You hit snooze too many times because you’re just exhausted Meeting ran late at work Sick kid Dog ate your running shoes Hotel that you travel to for work doesn’t have a gym   It’s really easy to just say, SCREW IT…I’ll do it tomorrow! BUT, something LIKE THIS could happen to you almost every day, am I right? There’s always things coming up that we didn’t plan for, but you also just can’t BLOW OFF your workouts if you want to reach your health & fitness goals.   That’s why I’m excited to share my interview that I recently did with Jen Sinkler, creator of Lift Weights Faster, a metabolic conditioning workout library […]

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

 

P.S.  Are you getting my weekly coaching Emails on all things Fitness, Nutrition, & Mindset?  If not, join the party HERE & receive your FREE Gift!

 

Don’t Let The Vacation Mindset Get in the Way of Your Goals

This entry was posted in Lifestyle Mindset vacation Workouts on by (updated on )

 

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and get interviewed by Caitlin, owner of Fitgevity.  She specializes in helping people stay fit at home or while traveling, whether it be for business or pleasure.  She was curious to see what I do to stay fit & on track while traveling.

 

The vacation mindset can get in the way of our goals because we overindulge and stop our exercise routine when we’re traveling.  This probably won’t do too much damage if you don’t take a long trip or travel frequently.

 

However, if you find yourself traveling a lot for work or taking longer vacations, the best thing you can do for yourself is to eat and exercise the same way on vacation as you do at home.  But, this won’t be possible if you find yourself in the the binge/restrict cycle frequently.  This ease around staying fit while traveling comes from ACCEPTING that eating healthy & feeling good is a lifestyle that’s FOREVER not a temporary fix!

 

Watch the Full Interview That We Did Here:

 

https://youtu.be/HaHUjiq2560

 

One of the key points I always touch on is the importance of establishing Key, Nutritional Habits – like the ones we practice in my program, The Willpower Diet, at home that automate your eating so that it’s not so hard to use these same principles when you’re traveling.

 

My 3 GO TO Strategies for Living a Healthy Lifestyle on the Road

 

Eat to 80% Full.  This takes practice to learn what 80% feels like to you.  What it usually means to me is splitting entrees, sharing desserts, and leaving a few bites on my plate while traveling and eating in restaurants.

The majority of my plate is composed of lean protein and veggies.  These two type of foods help me to feel satiated and satisfied, with the least amount of calories. When I go into a restaurant, I know I’m looking for dishes that are going to get me both of these things.  I will enjoy other foods, but protein & veggies compose the majority.

I do some form of movement every day.  It could be walking, a 10 minute interval circuit, hitting up a local gym in the area on a day pass, or just run the stairs at the hotel.  ANY MOVEMENT is better than NO MOVEMENT.

 

A Great Workout to do While Traveling

 

No Excuses!  Here’s a Workout that you can do ANYWHERE!  All you need is a deck of cards, your body, & 20-30 minutes!  Watch the video below for a demo of how to set it up & the exercises.

 

https://youtu.be/41DFNX6_vdc

 

Quick Instructions:  Shuffle the deck before you begin.  Draw a card and do as many reps of the assigned exercise as the face value of the cards.  Repeat drawing cards for a max of 30 minutes.  Hopefully, you’ll see that you get more cards done in the allotted time after doing it more than once.  Do you think you can make it through the whole deck in 30 minutes?

 

The Exercises:

  • Hearts = Pushups
  • Diamonds = Hip bridges or Single Leg Hip Bridges
  • Spades = Side to Side Planks (can be done from hands or forearms or drop to knees)
  • Clubs = Jump Squats or Speed Squats

Rep Guide:

  • 1-10 = 1-10 reps
  • Jack = 11 reps
  • Queen = 12 reps
  • King = 13 reps
  • Ace = 14 reps
  • Joker = Do 10 Burpees or any other torturous exercise of your choosing ??

 

Do you think you can make it through the whole deck in 30 minutes?  Let me know how it goes!  Safe and Happy Travels!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Tommie

 

P.S.  Need more workout ideas for when you travel?  Grab a copy of my FREE Slider Workout Video Series.  All you need is a cheap pair of furniture movers.  Those pack just as nicely as a deck of cards.

 

Resources:  For the full interview and blog write up of this travel interview, go to: http://fitgevitysolutions.com/travel-tuesday-how-to-pro-travel-episode-6/

Card Workout Idea:  Alloy Personal Training Systems, who we franchise with for exercise programming at my fitness center.