Strickland Fitness

Take it outside

Tired of looking at the same stuff at the gym? Getting bored with the same old exercises and the same old routine? Try making a scenery change.

Most of us use the gym as our primary place to work out. It is incredible how amazing it feels to hit the beach for a run instead of the treadmill. Don’t live near the beach? Head to the park or nearest school track for your next run. The fresh air and change of environment will spark a new exhilaration in your workout. Hearing the natural sounds of the park or beach can give you the peace of mind that the murmurs of local gossip can’t. You can really get in touch with your body.

You don’t always need the apparatuses that the gym offers to get a solid workout. A few dumbbells and elastic bands will do just fine. I love taking my clients to the beach and doing some interval sprints in the sand and some light resistance training with elastics and dumbbells. Doing some stretches after a great workout to the sound of crashing waves revitalizes the body the way a crowded gym floor cannot.

If you are used to taking a stroll down at the beach or through the local park, speed it up a little bit and you now have a nice cardio workout. A great exercise session isn’t where you do it; It’s what you do.

There is one common mistake people make when training their back. That mistake is that they are not usually training their back even when doing exercises for the back. Let’s look at the Lat pull down. This exercise is used to train a large muscle in the back called the Latissimus Dorsi (Lat). The Lat is responsible for shoulder extension, adduction, and rotation. It also plays a role in the extension and lateral flexion of the spine. Now when we sit down at the Lat pull down machine, we know we should be lowering the bar TO THE FRONT OF OUR CHIN (not behind the head) and releasing it back up, thus working our Lats. After all, it is a Lat exercise. What normally happens is we don’t even get the Lats firing and end up using our arms to complete the action. We use our arms everyday so we know how to get those muscles firing. With the arms doing most of the work, we are now doing a variation of a bicep curl. Ever do a back exercise and wonder why your arms are tired and you don’t really feel anything in the back? The arms are working harder than the back. Let’s solve that problem.

We will use the Lat pull down again for our example. You are sitting at the machine, your back is straight and not arched and you have your arms fully extended above your head gripping the bar. As you begin to pull the bar down in front of your chin, concentrate on pulling your shoulder blades down into your back pocket. You should feel your shoulders drop down as well. This action of dropping your shoulder blades will activate your Lats. Keep them dropping as you bring the bar down to your chin bending at the elbows. Now as you begin to slowly release the bar back to the original position of arms above the head, don’t let the shoulder blades leave your back pocket. Try and keep them down until you have reached the starting position. At this point you can release your shoulder blades and prepare for the next rep. It should take 2 seconds to pull the bar down (positive motion) and 4 seconds to bring the bar back to its original spot (negative motion).

You will feel your arms working because they are helper muscles in this exercise. The real burn should be in the back. Concentrate on this concept and you will be well on your way to the perfect “V” shape.

If you have been trying to lose weight and it just doesn’t seem to be working, read this carefully. Our bodies don’t want any extra weight that is not needed. Our bodies want to carry a weight that allows us to move comfortably and freely throughout our lives. Our bodies do not want extra weight that will cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and high cholesterol. We as people do not want extra weight that makes us feel bad and makes us spend more money on clothes because our sizes keep changing. Your body wants to be at the weight you want it to be at and it is built to be that way. You just have to do a few simple things to help it along.

Now, I know most people that are reading this are thinking that if it was so simple then I wouldn’t be in the position to have to lose weight. Well, to clarify, the things you have to do are simple. The implementation and dedication to these things are more difficult. What are these simple things: Resistance training, cardiovascular training, and healthy nutrition. That’s it! Actively bringing these 3 things into your life will get you to your goal weight. Your hard work and dedication with these 3 things is the recipe for weight loss and overall good health.  

I will discuss these key points in great detail in the following posts. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment and I will post it with your answer.

Cardiovascular training or otherwise known as cardio is very important to overall fitness. It is one of the key factors in weight loss and helps in the prevention of high blood pressure and heart related illnesses such as heart disease. Anything that raises your heart rate can be considered cardio training.

Some popular cardio exercises are swimming, running, and biking. Gyms offer a wide variety of cardio machines such as elliptical, treadmills, rowing, biking, and stair steppers. All of these can be good cardiovascular training machines. The key is knowing what to do on them. I don’t mean how to use them, but how your heart and breathing should react. There are many factors involved in doing the right cardio for you. I could write many articles on this (which I will), but I will start with this tip: Cardio training should be done 3-5 times a week. 30 minutes to an hour is plenty depending on your fitness level. For some, riding a stationary bike is boring so they stop doing it and cardio all together. Find an exercise you enjoy. You should look forward to going to the gym, outside, or in the pool to train your heart.

I will write more entries about the specifics of cardio training and knowing exactly what to do to get the most out of your exercise session. A healthy heart is the most important part of a healthy body!

Volleyball Spike

How’s your vertical jump? Are you looking to add a few inches to your leap? As a former professional volleyball player, I can tell you that it is possible to improve your vertical with a few simple exercises.

The best way to improve your vertical jump is to jump!

The muscles in the legs contain two types of fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers are responsible for slow and powerful movements. A squat would be an example of a slow twitch muscle exercise. Fast twitch fibers are responsible for quick explosive movements such as jumping. In order to train these fast twitch muscles effectively, you have to do quick explosive exercises.

High vertical leap = powerful, yet explosive legs.

I used the combination of a powerful exercise followed by an explosive exercise to train my 42” vertical jump.

So don’t get rid of the squats; Add the jumps to it!

My favorite combination is to do a set of 10 squats at 50% of my 1 rep max followed by 10 jump squats.

With no weight, lower yourself into a squat and then jump up as high as you can. Land softly and immediately lower yourself into the next one.

3 sets 2-3 times a week is great jump training.

If touching the basketball rim is your goal and you just can’t seem to make it, try practicing trying to touch it. You will be surprised after a few weeks how just trying already increased your vert!