ROD 050110

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Saturday, 01May10

 

Conditioning  Tabata Circuit

We are going for 20 seconds rest / 10 seconds work – non-stop 8 rounds

  • Squats
  • Pull-ups
  • V-ups
  • KB swings
  • Push-ups
  • MB russian twists

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“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.“ - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Calorie Restriction NOT Key to Increasing Life, Lowering Insulin Level Is

A new study has examined the effects of food on typical biological signs of advancing age. Generally, as you get older, you will have elevated levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides.

Study participants were given a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet with an adequate amount of protein. The researchers measured a number of factors, including body weight, fasting serum glucose, insulin, leptin, lipids, and thyroid hormone… continue reading

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This clip is a classic and has always made me laugh, I hope you enjoy.

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Conditioning, Fat Burner, High Intensity Interval Training, Muscle Endurance, Tabata Style Tagged With: , , , ,

ROD 043010

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Friday, 30Apr10

 

Simplicity

21-18-15-12-9-6 reps for time of:

Heavy dumbbell thrusters
Push-ups
Sit-ups

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Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance. – Brian Tracy

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Who decides what our children are eating? Here’s a glance at how it’s done.

Filed Under: Bodyweight, High Intensity Interval Training, Medicine Ball Tagged With: , ,

ROD 042910

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Thursday, 29Apr10

 

Tabata Boxing

A timed 2 min of WORK at each station.  The last 30 seconds of each station everyone will do a abs exercisies called out by the trainer such as V’s, Planks, Bicycles, Leg raises, Crunches …… 

No rest between stations. …NO REST…. We want 100% maximium effort

  • Box jumps
  • B-A-G
  • 1/2 Burpees
  • Wall Ball 
  • B-A-G
  • Hit Mitt
  • KB High-Pull 
  • B-A-G
  • DB Thrusters
  • Med Ball rotations

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“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

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We made the SI Advance…check it out!!!!

http://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2010/04/sweat_strain_and_get_stronger.html

Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , ,

ROD 042810

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Wednesday, 28Apr10

 

Kettlebell and Bodyweight workout

Do 6 rounds of 20 seconds work/20 seconds rest at each couplet

Take a 1:00 rest between each 6 round couplet

Couplet 1: 

  • Kettlebell clean and press (right)
  • Kettlebell clean and press (left)

Couplet 2:  

  • Stability ball hamstring curl
  • Stability ball  knees to chest

Couplet 3: 

  • Squats
  • Jumping pull ups

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Contemplate this…
“Your idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more people will click with your idea. The more people click with your idea, the more it will change  lives”.                                                                                               Hugh Macleod

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Sailboats, Tensegrity models & Human Body

Filed Under: Bodyweight, Couplets, Fat Burner, Kettlebell Tagged With: , , ,

ROD 042710

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ROD

Tuesday, 27Apr10

 

Ballistic Conditioning Circuit

5 basic movements, but very physically demanding and seemed to complement each other.

5 rounds total of 30 seconds work/15 seconds rest

  • kettlebell swings
  • battling ropes
  • box jumps
  • rowers
  • burpees

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      Take Care of Your Fuzz (Fascia)

    This is a look at why we wake up so tight. Interesting video.

    Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: ,

    ROD 042610

    April 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    ROD

    Monday, 26Apr10

     

    Morning Class ROD

    7 rounds for time of:

    • 10 KB swings
    • 10 KB cleans
    • 10 windmills 5r/5l
    • 10 push-ups

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    We cannot become what we need to be, remaining what we are. ~ Max Depree

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    Strongman Monday

    This will be a timed routine 45 work/15 second rest w/ 1 minute rest between

    • KB cleans
    • Barbell overhead presses
    • DB Thrusters
    • 1 arm reclines
    • KB swings
    • Bodybar get-ups

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    2010 High Rock Challenge Results …… Good job guy’s

     *Men’s Team Results

    33rd place  – Mike & Darrin – 2:08:34:0

    38th place – Joe & “No Show” Shawn – 2:10:34:5

    *Co-Ed Team Results

    16th place – Juan & Maria – 2:08:51:1

    *High School Team Results

    3rd Place – Brian & Mike – 2:46:39:2

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    This is how our routines look, when we prepare for an event

    Filed Under: Heavy Day, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance, Power & Strength, Strongman ROD Tagged With: , , , ,

    ROD 042510

    April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    ROD

    Sunday, 25Apr10

     

    R-E-S-T Day

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    “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

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    Obesity and fast foods - there’s little doubt about the link. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United states. And it’s an epidemic that has grown side by side, step by step with the the fast food industry.

    Eric Schlosser in his brilliant and shocking book, Fast Food Nation, describes the US as “an empire of fat,” and he lays the blame for this clearly and convincingly at the door of the fast food industry.

    Obesity Fast Food Data

    Twice as many American adults are obese today as in the 1960s. More than half of all adults and a quarter of all children are now obese. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy.
    Further evidence for the link between obesity and fast food can be found outside the US. Since the early 1980s, American-style fast food culture has spread like wildfire around the world… And obesity has followed, accompanied by its many unwelcome side effects: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other ills.

    As people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favour of fast food, the rates of obesity and associated diseases have soared.

    In countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. The good news is that there is now more awareness about the ill effects of fast food than ever before, thanks in part to books like Fast Food Nation and documentary movies like Morgan Spurlock’s popular and punchy Super Size Me.

    There also seems to be a genuine change in people’s attituded to to food and how it is produced. As Schlosser says modestly of his book: “its success should not be attributed to my literary style, my storytelling ability, or the novelty of my arguments.

    “Had the same book been published a decade ago, with the same words in the same order, it probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention. Not just in the United States, but throughout western Europe,people are beginning to question the massive, homogenizing systems that produce, distribute, and market their food. The unexpected popularity of Fast Food Nation, I believe, has a simple yet profound explanation. The times are changing.”

    What can we do about fast food and obesity?

    So what can we do to as consumers to tackle the problem of obesity and fast foods?

    First, we can stop supporting the traditional, unhealthy fast food chains. Let’s rather buy from outlets that sell healthy alternatives. More and more of these restaurants and delis are opening. There should be at least one near you. Support it!

    Another thing we can do is to lobby our congressperson (or MP or some other political representative if we’re in a country outside the US) to ban all advertisements that promote foods high in fat and sugar to children.

    As Schlosser points out, prevention is far better than cure. “A ban on advertising unhealthy foods to children would discourage eating habits that are not only hard to break, but potentially life-threatening.”

    Such a ban may sound far-fetched, until you remember that 35 years ago a ban on cigarette advertising sounded equally unlikely. Five years later Congress banned cigarette ads from television and radio. And those ads were directed at adults, not children.

    Smoking has declined ever since.

    It’s time we did something similar with obesity and fast food

    Filed Under: Nutrition, Recovery Tagged With: ,

    ROD 042410

    April 23, 2010 By 1 Comment

    ROD

    Saturday, 24Apr10

     

    High Rock Challenge Routine

    15/15 seconds for 20 minutes ~ No rest

    • Push-Ups
    • Body Rows
    • Box Jumps
    • Kettlebell Swing

    The work capacity that our compadres are going to perform at the High Rock Challenge, we are going to work just as hard in our ROD by completing this challenge without any substitutions or diversions.

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    The whole idea is to get an edge. Sometimes it takes just a little extra something to get that edge, but you have to have it. ~ Don Shula

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    Paleo-Update…

    This is the finish of day 8 of my Paleo-Challenge. It’s been quite a bitch trying to stay sugar free. I believe everything that we get our hands on in respect to processed foods has quite a bit of sugar in the ingredients. My breakfasts are comprised of omelettes with various vegetables i.e. spinach, tomatoes & mushrooms. The most difficult part is finding grain-fed beef. Lucky for me I found it at Wegman’s. A little pricey but what a difference in flavor. Speaking of flavor I do spice things up… thank God spices aren’t a restricted part of paleo. A lot of broccoli, spinach, and a colorful array of vegetables. It really isn’t so bad. There is a bag of  Tostito’s lime chips that keeps calling my name but I have defeated the urge to jump in the bag feet first. I miss the sugary carbs, just a bad habit. Otherwise though, I feel great and I have started working out. Mostly because I’m eating foods which do not cause inflamation of my right knee. It’s amazing how the body reacts to the change in diet. My right knee has been swollen for 3 months and no matter how much I treated it with ice therapy, the swelling never allowed me to bend the knee to more than 80 degrees. I can now go past 90 degrees ROM and can perform squats and burpees comfortably. Well thats all for now, I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I will succeed. – Coach D

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    Speaking of a tough routine, check out the video and tell me how much heart this guy has in this qualifer for the CrossFit Games. Do you think you have as much heart.  This is what commitment to the Sport of Fitness is all about.

    Travis Cooke- WOD 4 New England Sectionals- Final Heat on Vimeo.

    Filed Under: Bodyweight, Conditioning, Fat Burner, High Intensity Interval Training, Kettlebell, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , , , , ,

    ROD 042310

    April 22, 2010 By 2 Comments

    ROD

    Friday, 23Apr10

     

    Swing, Push & Snatch

    Complete these four exercises on the two minute mark for 20 minutes!

    10 kb swings
    10 push ups
    10 KB hold to a figure 8
    10 squat thrusts

    For example, if you finish in 1:30, you’ll have 30 seconds rest before starting again.

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    This Saturday April 10, the Annual High Rock Challenge, held on Staten Island, will begin at 9:00 am. This is a tough challenge but our workouts are tougher.

    We want to send out a big  GOOD LUCK  to

    1. Juan & Maria – Team Nxt Level
    2. Darren & Mike – Team Nxt Level II
    3. Brian & Mike C. – Team Nxt Level III
    4. Joe & “No Show” Shawn- Team Nxt Level IV

    Each team has been training hard at Nxt Level for this event. Nxt Level is proud to have this many members competing in the High Rock Challenge. It shows that we fear nothing and no one.

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    ” I never allow fear to dictate what I can do, but I do allow for it to teach me something.”
    Waldo Emerson

    Recommended Reading: Beyond the Body by Louis Hayes

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    Let’s take a good look at this new fitness tool for squats & lunges, Someone will buy this.

    Air squats too hard? Try Guided Assistance Technology!

    Filed Under: Conditioning, Fat Burner, High Intensity Interval Training, Kettlebell Tagged With: , , ,

    ROD 042210

    April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

    ROD

    Thursday, 22Apr10

     

    Tabata Boxing

    A timed 2 min of WORK at each station.  The last 30 seconds of each station everyone will do a abs exercisies called out by the trainer such as V’s, Planks, Bicycles, Leg raises, Crunches …… 

    No rest between stations. …NO REST…. We want 100% maximium effort

    • Box jumps
    • B-A-G
    • 1/2 Burpees
    • Wall Ball 
    • B-A-G
    • Hit Mitt
    • KB High-Pull 
    • B-A-G
    • DB Thrusters
    • Med Ball rotations

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    The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. – William James

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    Hamstrung

    Probably the most common condition that hinders athletic performance is tight hamstrings. Short tight hamstrings impede athletic performance in one simple but important way: they restrict the closing of the hip joint, i.e. they limit the anterior tilt of the pelvis. This restriction on the movement of the pelvis results in the muscles of the lower back taking up the slack. The negative impact is twofold: 1) the range of motion of the hips is restricted which reduces the power that can be produced by the hips; and 2) the lower back is put into flexion and thus susceptible to injury.

    The hamstrings are an extremely important muscle (The hamstrings are actually a group of three muscles: the Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus and the Semitendinosus) for athletes. The common misconception is that the hamstrings’ main purpose is knee flexion. However, the real job of the hamstrings is opening the hips…strongly and explosively. The hamstrings connect to the pelvis at the Ischial Tuberosities and control the movement of the hip joint, i.e. where the femur meets the pelvis.

    hamstrings

    The restriction of pelvic movement often results in a condition defined as “Muted Hip Function”. This will show up in lots of athletic movements and Crossfit exercises: The push press, the squat, the deadlift and their more explosive variations.

    Here is a little test to illustrate my point. Grab two jumpstretch bands: a thin one and a thick one. Tie the two bands together and tie one of them to a fixed object like your squat cage. Now try to stretch the thick band. You will notice that the thick band is almost impossible to stretch. The thin band is the one that does most of the stretching. These bands are like your muscles. The thick band represents your hamstrings and the thin band represents your lower back. Most of the time when people stretch, they try to stretch their hamstrings but all they really do is stretch their lower backs. The tighter your hamstrings the more your lower back will do the majority of the stretching.
    Band Test

    Most people try to stretch their hamstrings by doing toe touches but if you look closely you will see that there is a lot of lower back stretching going on in the typical toe touch stretch. If you keep doing your stretches this way you will train your body to always stretch your lower back when you are trying to stretch your hamstrings. We want to avoid training our body with (and thereby reinforcing) bad movement patterns.

    Toe Touch

    So if one wants to really stretch their hamstrings without stretching their lower backs, then they have to figure out a way to keep the lower back from taking up the slack.

    I offer the following solution to the hamstring problem. This stretch, done correctly, immobilizes the hips and spine and allows the athlete to isolate the stretch into the hamstring muscles.

    You will need the following props: a strap and an Abmat. You can also use a belt, jump rope or jumpstretch band in place of a strap and can use a towel or rolled up yoga mat in place of the Abmat.
    Props

    Lie on your back and place the Abmat or rolled up towel or rolled up yoga mat under your lower back. You want to support the natural lordotic arch. By keeping your butt and shoulders on the floor and your lower back supported, you will limit the stretch into the lower back and limit the movement of the pelvis due to the pull of the hamstring.

    Take the strap across the sole of your foot and lift your leg as far as you can without lifting your butt off the ground. The non-stretching leg should remain straight and the toes should stay pointed straight up. Press the sole of that foot into a wall. This will help keep the leg engaged and help keep your pelvis grounded and even.

    Stretch 1

    Do not pull too hard with the arms. Try to remain relaxed and let your shoulders come back towards the floor and the weight of your arms passively pull the strap. Rest your head on the floor or on another Abmat.

    Stretch 2

    Do not be discouraged by how high you lift your leg. This is a difficult stretch and it will reveal the true length of your hamstring. Try not to cheat by lifting your butt. Keep your butt glued to the floor and work on slowly lifting the leg.

    Stretch 3

    Try to notice where exactly you feel the stretching sensation. You should feel the sensation in the belly of the muscle at the midway point between your butt and the back of your knee. Be careful! If you feel sore in the area behind the knee or the buttocks then you might be overstretching the tendons and not the muscle fibers. Try bending the leg slightly at the knee but still keep pushing up through the heel of the foot.

    Try to do this stretch daily after your workout while the body is still warm. Do each leg for at least a minute or longer. Breathe slowly and deeply and try to visualize the hamstrings slowly relaxing and releasing.

    Was this helpful? Please post your thoughts and hamstring questions to the comments.

    Thank you to Allison and Jacinto from The Black Box for modeling.

    Filed Under: Boxing, Conditioning, Fat Burner, Muscle Endurance Tagged With: , , ,
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