CrossFit Training

CrossFit Inc. is a fitness company founded by Greg Glassman in 2000.

CrossFit, is a strength and conditioning program with the aim of improving, among other things, muscular strength, cardio-respiratory endurance, and flexibility. It advocates a perpetually changing mix of aerobic exercise, gymnastics (body weight exercises), and Olympic weight lifting.

Each 'workout of the day' (WOD) is treated as a competition where you try to beat both your workout partners and your own personal best.  This keeps competitive people interested and also ensures that individuals are making progress from one workout to the next.  Because of the competitive nature of both the community as well as the program, people are also pushed to work harder than they may on their own, yielding more benefit from their workout sessions.

Air Squats

Kettle Bell Swing

The Push-up is one of the greatest exercises for developing serious upper body strength.  It effectively trains all of the muscles involved in horizontal pressing (pecs, triceps, deltoids,  etc.) works the stabilizers, and activates the entire core.

Additionally, it is one of the few horizontal pressing movements that allows the scapula to move naturally.  This is critical for function and shoulder health.  In this sense, the push-up is unlike any horizontal pressing exercise that requires you to lie on a bench.

Position #1 = Plank
Position #2 = Hovering Plank

Keep the body in a straight line.

Thanks Cathy!

TRICEPS
Overall, the triceps are probably the most important muscle in terms of upper body training. Biceps would be right up there as well.  Triceps make up 2/3 of the arm.  Strong triceps are necessary for every pushing movement and some pulling movements as well, where the arms are close to the body during the movement.

Triceps 'Dips' Use your own body-weight to work the back of the arms.  Keep the body close to the bench and bend the elbows back.  Thanks Lori! - Bend and stretch those arms!

Close Grip (narrow) Pushup

Stability Ball 'Skull Crusher'

Triceps 'Kickback'

Triceps Side Crunch

Triceps Overhead

Stability Ball Pushup (narrow)

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is characterized by pain that starts in the lower back or buttock and travels into one or both legs.  Usually there will be a component of sharp, jabbing or 'electric shock' pain that radiates into the legs.  Sciatic pain is also commonly associated with burning, numbness and tingling sensations.  Typically, sciatica is made worse by bending, lifting, sneezing and coughing.


Why Me?
Pressure on the Sciatic nerve can result from a number of reasons including:

• Tightness of the piriformis muscle in the buttock that compresses the sciatic nerve
• Spinal misalignment
• Herniated disc
• Osteoarthritis
• Poor posture - wearing high heels, prolonged sitting, poor mattress
• Poor lifting techniques and poor bending habits
• Spinal compression due to osteoporosis

Sciatica exercises focus on relieving pain in the lower back and legs, which are associated with damage of the radicular nerve.  In most cases, exercise is more beneficial than bed rest; the movement will promote the exchange of fluids in the spinal discs, while also strengthening the back muscles and providing support for the back.  The exercises can also prevent the recurrence of the pain.

WALL SQUAT (invisible chair)

This thigh exercise is incredibly helpful for....

• Turning 'big thighs' to 'skinny thighs' into sexy toned thighs.
• Controlling and preventing knee damage
• Keeping you mobile as you age
• And...yes...fat loss!  here's why...

Every extra pound of muscle tissue adds valuable ammunition to your fat-loss efforts - it increases metabolism so you burn more calories at all hours of the day.
And since your thighs are some of the largest muscles in your body, it's easier to build a pound of muscle there than almost anywhere else in the body.

Excellent Wall Squat, Laurence!

Hold for 1-minute....then increase gradually to 3-minutes.

Abdominal Training

Truth: Exposing your abs is a matter of getting very low body fat levels.  The lower your body fat level, the 'thinner' your skin will be and the more your abdominal musculature will show through.

Truth: Without the proper diet ('kitchen'), the ab exercises by themselves are useless because well-developed abs can remain covered up with a layer of fat and it's possible to out-eat any amount of exercise.

When it comes to losing belly fat, there isn't anything much better at torching the stubborn fat around your waistline as quickly and efficiently as interval training, also known as HIIT (high intensity interval training): WORK period, REST period.  In other words: out of breath, slow down to catch your breath.

So how do you know if you're WORK intervals are hard enough?

Think of a scale of 1-10

1  =you're basically just standing there.

10=you're legs are going to fall off and you may vomit.

You want to be at about 8.5 on that scale. You're REST intervals would be at around 3 on that scale, giving you a nice recovery period to let your heart rate come down before crushing another WORK interval.

Example list of exercises that are extremely effective as a HIIT Circuit Training; they all require full-body movements and it will not take you long to reach your 8.5 on the scale:

• Burpees
• Mountain climbers, X-climbers
• Lunges, Prisoner Lunges, Lateral Lunges, Front Lunges
• Pushups (any kind)
• Squat 'Hops', Plyo Box Jumps
• Jump Split Squat

BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT

Muscular Benefits

• Increases strength in the lower body, specifically the front (quads) and butt (glutes)
• Equalizes strength on both sides of the body
• Improves balance and stability

Sports Performance Benefits

• Increases lower-body strength, will help you run faster and jump higher
• Balanced strength in both legs will ensure you can cut at the same speed in all directions, while also preventing imbalance issues that can sabotage performance
• Improved lower-body balance and stability will help you maintain control of your body on the field and also prevent injuries

Train with friends this summer! Great Bulgarian Squats girls!

(Thank you Joanne, Amanda & Amanda, Angela, Lia)