Strickland Fitness

Ok challengers, it’s time to start shredding the upper body! We are trying to build lean muscle and burn fat. So for the purpose of this challenge, we will be sticking to medium weights, doing more repetitions, and reducing our recovery time between sets to keep the heart rate slightly elevated. If you are trying to build bulk muscle, heavier weights and more rest between sets will be needed. There will not be separate workouts for the beginners and more advanced. Everyone will do the same workout with the amount of weight being the difference. This workout is for the gym. If you do not belong to a gym, you can use anything at home that you can hold in one hand.

You will only get out of this workout what you put into it. Challenge yourself and keep it intense!! Before you start, read this: http://stricklandfitness.com/2009/01/22/intensity/.

Here is a description of all the exercises you will need for the workout:

Push-ups: (works the chest, triceps, and shoulders) Always start on your hands and feet and drop to the knees if needed to complete the set.

Lat Pulls: (works the Lats. See this for more details, http://stricklandfitness.com/2008/10/22/back-not-bis/) The lat pull machine requires you to use your back and biceps. It’s the machine that you sit down on and pull the weight down. Pull the weight down to the front of your chin, not behind your head. As you are pulling the weight down, try and pull your shoulder blades into your back pocket throughout the movement. This ensures you are using your lats and not only your arms. Be sure to keep your back straight. Don’t lean back.

Military Press: (works the shoulders and traps, or top of the shoulders) Sit on a bench with a back support. Start with the dumbbells in front of your shoulders with your palms facing toward you. Press above your head while twisting your palms to face away from you.

Isolated Abdominal Crunches: (works the abs) see challenge #3.

Straight Arm Shoulder Raises: (works the front and side of shoulders) With the dumbbells at your side, palms facing toward your body, raise the weight to your sides until shoulder height and then lower. Keep your arms straight through the entire movement. Raise the weight now to the front and lower. Alternate between the side and front. Keep your back straight.

Tricep Extensions: (works the triceps, or back of the arms) Standing with a straight back and a small bend in the knees, hold a dumbbell with both hands straight above your head. Bending only at the elbows, slowly lower the weight behind your head and then extend back to above your head. Do not move your head forward to let the weight pass behind it.

Bicep Curls: (works the biceps, or front of the arms) Standing with a straight back and a slight bend in the knees, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Imagine that your elbows are pinned to your sides. Starting with the weights down by your waist, slowly bring the weight up to your shoulders by bending at the elbow. Be sure the elbow doesn’t move and your body remains perfectly still throughout the movement.

The Workout

For each exercise, choose a weight that you can do 12-15 repetitions with the last 3 reps being difficult to do while maintaining good form.

10 minute warm-up

In the order mentioned above, do 12-15 repetitions of each exercise with no rest between them. Work hard and intense. Focus on the muscle you are using for each exercise. Make a mind – muscle connection!! After 1 series, rest for 2 minutes. Repeat the series 2-3 more times with 2 minutes rest between each series for a total of 3-4 series.

10 minute cool down

 

Once completed, put a check in the box for Oct. 8^th. Great job!!!

 

 

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I hope everyone is enjoying the challenge! I have received some great emails from challengers so keep up the awesome work! Your challenge for today is easy. Read the two attached posts,  make a list of all the things you think you need to change in your lifestyle to maintain your goals, and then active rest.

Active rest is doing something to get the blood flowing throughout the body without tiring the muscles. Some examples of active rest are: Going on a walk, riding your bike, taking an easy swim in the pool, or a good session of active stretching. Use this day to catch up on your food journal, rest your mind and body,  and make your lifestyle change list. Think about all the things you would like to change in order to live a healthier lifestyle. Write each one of them down. Once you have made your list, pick one item and start making the change. Once you have made one change, you can move onto the next one. We are after long-term change and not short term fixes. Once you have done this, put a check in the box for Oct. 6th. Great Job!!!!

http://stricklandfitness.com/2008/10/21/change/

http://stricklandfitness.com/2008/12/21/true-reflection/

Today is going to be strictly calorie burning. For an introduction to interval training, read this post… http://stricklandfitness.com/2008/12/15/interval-training/. There is a formula in there for calculating heart rates for interval training. Getting the maximum heart rate for that formula is a little different than the way you got it for the challenge. That is ok. Use the formula in the attached post. Be sure to write down the percentages (50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 85%) of your maximum heart rate for interval training as you will need them for the future. Once you have read the post, you are ready for intervals today. If you have any questions on how to do intervals, please ask in the comment section. Intervals are a great way to shed some pounds…or stones for the UK J

Using any cardio apparatus, beginners do workout A and more advanced challengers do workout B. Once you have done your intervals, put a check in your calendar for Oct. 6^th. Great job!!!

 

Workout A:

10 minutes active warm up

8-10 sprints: Sprint until 65% of your max heart rate and rest until it goes down to 50%.

You can raise the heart rates if you feel comfortable. It should take no more than a minute to hit your selected heart rate and it doesn’t matter how long it takes for it to come down. That will speed up with time. Be sure to be intense in your efforts to hit your top heart rate. Don’t just jog, but sprint!

10 minutes cool down

Workout B:

10 minutes active warm up

8-10 sprints: Sprint until 85% of your max heart rate and rest until it goes down to 60%. It should take no more than a minute to hit your selected heart rate and it doesn’t matter how long it takes for it to come down. That will speed up with time. Be sure to be intense in your efforts to hit your top heart rate. Don’t just jog, but sprint!

10 minutes cool down

Use of any knowledge from this website is voluntary. By reading this post, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the disclaimer in the about section of this website. Thanks for participating!

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Now, it’s time to get back to work. Today will be a workout to knockout the weekend! Emphasis will be on legs and abs…topped off with a little cardio. Workout A is for beginners and workout B is for the more advanced. Here are the exercises and at the bottom you will find the workouts. After you have done it, put a check in the box for Oct. 5^th. Great Job!!!!

1 Leg Squat

This exercise is great for targeting the gluts and quads while working on strength and balance. Raise your left leg out in front of you so your left hip and knee are bent at 90 degrees. Standing only on the right leg, slowly lower yourself bringing your hips behind you. Only go down about a quarter of the way. Press through your heel to raise yourself to the starting position. Concentrate on not letting your right knee collapse in towards your left leg. Your knee should stay directly in line with your foot.

Jump Squats

Starting in a standing position, lower yourself into a squat position with your knees bent no more than 90 degrees. Once you reach your squat depth, immediately explode up jumping up as high as you can. Land softly and immediately lower yourself into the next.

Isolated abdominal crunches

Lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at 45 degrees, place your hands flat on your thighs. Concentrating on contracting your abdominals, use your abs to pull your upper body off the floor while sliding your hands up your thighs towards the top of your knees. Your upper body should only go high enough that your shoulder blades clear the ground. Lower back to the starting position.

Pelvic Lifts

This exercise works the gluts, hamstrings, and the lower back. Lying on your back with both feet on the ground and your legs bent at 45 degrees, press through your feet on the floor raising your pelvis off the ground. You should raise it until you have a straight line from your head to the tip of your bent knees. Lower your pelvis to the ground and then raise again. Concentrate on activating the gluts while going through the motion. You can add intensity to this by extending 1 leg out to straight while holding your pelvis up. The next step would be to raise and lower your pelvis with 1 leg while the other leg is in full extension.

Plank

Start by lying face down on the ground or use an exercise mat . Place your elbows and forearms underneath your chest. Prop yourself up to form a bridge using your toes and forearms. Maintain a flat back and do not allow your hips to sag towards the ground. Concentrate on holding yourself up with your abs and not your arms. Always lower yourself to the ground if you feel any pain in your back.

Cardio

20 minute run

 

Workout A

12-15 one leg squats

Rest for 15 seconds

10-12 jump squats

Rest for 15 seconds

20-25 isolated abdominal crunches

Rest for 15 seconds

12-15 pelvic lifts (both legs on the ground)

Rest for 15 seconds

30 second plank

Rest for 1-2 minutes and return to start of series. Do the entire series 3-5 times depending on exhaustion level.

At the end of all the series, do 20 minutes of cardio on your apparatus of choice with your heart rate between 50%-65%.

 

Workout B

Try not to rest between exercises

15 one leg squats

12 jump squats

25 isolated abdominal crunches

15 pelvic lifts (try doing it with one leg)

Plank for as long as you can up to 1 minute

Rest for 1-2 minutes and return to start of series. Do the entire series 4-5 times depending on exhaustion level.

At the end of all the series, do 20 minutes of cardio on your apparatus of choice with your heart rate between 65%-80%.

 

 

Use of any knowledge from this website is voluntary. By reading this post, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the disclaimer in the about section of this website. Thanks for participating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. Be sure to read the tips at the bottom of this post!
Ok Challengers….The time has come!!!! Let the challenge begin.
You should have your maximum heart rate from a previous post. Calculate 50%, 65%, 80%, and write down each of those numbers (you will need them for the entire challenge). You can also use the formula 220 – your age = Maximum heart rate. Your Challenge for today is….
Using any cardio apparatus of your choice (bike, running outside, treadmill, etc.), beginners or just starting exercise challengers do cardio program A. Intermediate or have been exercising challengers do cardio program B.

Cardio Program A: work for 20-30 minutes on your cardio apparatus. Raise your heart rate to at least 50% of your max heart rate. Maintain that heart rate making sure it doesn’t fall below 50% and doesn’t go above 65%. Even if you feel you can go higher, stay in this zone. We will raise it later. If you are tired at 20 minutes stop; otherwise work for the entire 30 minutes. If you can go the entire 30 minutes and feel ok, you will move to cardio program B next time. If you can’t find your heart rate, use the RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale at the bottom. Stay between 11-13.

Cardio Program B: Work for 20-30 minutes on your cardio apparatus. Raise your heart rate to at least 50% of your max heart rate. Maintain that heart rate making sure it doesn’t fall below 65% and doesn’t go above 80%. Even if you feel you can go higher, stay in this zone. We will raise it later. If you are tired at 20 minutes stop; otherwise work for the entire 30 minutes.
If you can’t find your heart rate, use the RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale at the bottom. Stay between 13-15.

Always exercise with intensity but comfort ability. Stop if you feel dizzy or nauseous. Once you have completed this challenge, put a check in the October 1^st box of your calendar. Great job!!

 Perceived Exertion Scale

 The following is a scale which you can use to describe and/or rate your level of exertion.

6

7 – Very, very light

8

9 – Very light

10

11 – Fairly light

12

13 – Somewhat hard

14

15 – Hard

16

17 – Very hard

18

19 – Very, very hard

 

Tips For Beginning Your Fitness Program

 

Proper preparation for a fitness program is essential in order to achieve the best results.  The following tips will not only help you when starting a new fitness program, but help you to stay consistent with it over the long term.

Following is a list of general principles:

1. Prior to beginning an exercise program, speak with your physician, especially if you have a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure, are overweight, sedentary, over 35 years old, have any heart problems, or have a history of heart problems in your family.

2. Set achievable, measurable, attainable, realistic goals.  Write them down and keep them someplace visible.

3. Wear comfortable clothing that will absorb perspiration. Choose clothing that won’t restrict your movement, and remember that this is about fitness, not fashion. Wear good athletic shoes that provide plenty of arch support. Dress for the climate.

4. Choose and schedule times to work out that fit your daily routine. There really isn’t a time of day that is any better than another, but it helps to pick a time when you usually feel energetic and your schedule allows for consistency.  If you have a busy lifestyle, put your workouts into your schedule just like any other appointments or responsibilities that you have.

5. Track your workouts in a log or notebook.  This helps ensure that you consistently challenge yourself to do more in your program, allows you to see the progress you are making, and gives you a record to monitor so you know when to build variety and progression into your program.

6. Warm up for 3 – 5 minutes with a light activity that targets all the major muscle groups prior to beginning your fitness program.

7. After your workout, finish with a cool down phase of 5-10 minutes.  This is also a good time to incorporate any stretching into your fitness program.

8. Consistency is the key with any fitness program designed to achieve lasting, long term results.  Start with small steps, but keep moving forward with your program consistently.

9. Do not go overboard with your fitness program.  Exercise is like anything else, and too much of a good thing can be detrimental.  Give your body adequate rest, not only by getting a good night’s sleep on a consistent basis, but by varying your exercise routine so that you do not suffer from repetitive use injuries.

Use of any knowledge from this website is voluntary. By reading this post, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the disclaimer in the about section of this website. Thanks for participating!