Strickland Fitness

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!

Looking for a great chest exercise without any weights? Try the push-up pyramid.

I learned this chest blaster from a fellow trainer at my gym. This exercise is best done with a partner. Begin by doing one push-up. When you stop, your partner does one push-up. You then do 2 push-ups. Your partner will do 2 push-ups when you finish. Continue this alternating push-up sequence to 10 push-ups. If you can make it to 10 push-ups, continue back down to one.

Form is very important!! If your form begins to fail as the push-ups get harder, drop to your knees and do knee push-ups to complete the pyramid.

Good luck!

Strengthening the lower back can be the first defense in fighting or preventing lower back pain. This is a great beginning exercise to strengthen your lower back.

Lay down on your stomach with your legs straight and your hands and arms stretched above your head. Simultaneously raise your right arm and left leg off the ground keeping the limbs totally straight. As you raise your arms and legs, concentrate on using your lower back to control the movement (you should feel a small contraction). After a small pause, lower to the ground. Again, concentrate on the lower back controlling the movement. It should take 3-4 seconds to complete one repetition. First do the right arm and left leg and then the left arm and right leg. Begin with 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions. Progress to 2 sets of 18-20 repetitions and then 3 sets of 18-20 repetitions.