Fast and Furious Fitness

As the saying goes, the tough get going. I say yes, that’s true, but I’d end it this way “get on with it, and get the job done”.

Now, the point of the post is not to prove how tough I am (or not). . .What I AM trying to do though is explain what I do when things get tough, and how to dig deep down, and find the motivation you need to move ahead. I’ve written about this one many a times before, but I always seem to be able to write more about it. Which makes sense if you think about it - no two days are exactly the same in terms of how you feel, perform, etc, so it stands to reason that there are any different things one can do to keep motivated.

Anyway, today definitely started out as one of the “slow” days for me in all ways (both work wise and in terms of exercise). The weather’s been gloomy here over the last couple of months, and much like anywhere else in the Northern hemisphere, there have been record low temperatures here as well. Add into the mix the fact that I wasn’t feeling the best today (overly tired, slight cold, etc etc), and you have the perfect recipe for feeling down, cancelling one’s workout, and continuing to feel down.

But, my discipline does not allow me to take a day off unless I REALLY need it, so off I went to start my routine after a few cups of green tea. I’m goal-oriented, and don’t usually back off when I set a target for myself (which in this case is 500 skips with the rope EVERY workout), so off to the races with me it was.

Started off with a few stretches to get the blood flowing, then picked up the rope and gave it a few twirls. Did some warm up skips, then started off with sets of 100. Today being a tough day, these sets seemed harder than they normally are, but what I did was congratulate myself after every set (I told myself, CONGRATS! Your moving towards the goal, slowly, but steadily). Now on “good” days, I rarely need to do this; I usually just knock the sets off without even bothering to think about them, but today wasn’t one of them.

Anyhow, my routine went thus: Around 40 “warmup” skips, 2 sets of 100, 30, 30, 2 sets of 100, and then 4 sets of 20 to end things off. Total of 540 skips if you count the ones after the warmups, and nearing 600 in total if one counts all of them. That number also includes 400 done in 4 sets, which ain’t a bad combination of figures either. Thus, I ended up with MORE skips than I normally do. Granted, I took more time over them today, but hey, the important thing is I got them done, no matter what. And THAT is what I am trying to point out - do what it takes, but get the job done as it should be. This principle doesn’t just apply to exercise; it applies to each and every facet of your life.

After the skips, I finished off with some tough yoga stretches, which I’m getting better at daily. Got up, toweled off (you know you’ve had a decent workout when your sweating hard at this time of the year), and now here I am, writing to you.

At the end of the day, I got a pretty good workout in anyway, despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling like a billion bucks, or even close to it when I started. Not feeling the best right now either, but I’m satisfied I got the job done. More importantly, I’m glad though that I did not skip my routine today - it is of utmost importance to stick to one’s routine without fail as far as possible, as that will increase the number of overall good days you have.

So, try congratulating yourself (literally) after each set, or each rep on your bad days, and keep moving towards the finish line; you might find you actually turn a bad day into a good one. If congratulating yourself doesn’t rock the boat for you, do what it takes - but get the job done.

When the going gets tough, do what it takes - but get the job done. I think that one sounds the best amongst the three options we’ve outlined.

And that, my friends, is that for today. As always, train well, and get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

A very happy New Year to you, no matter where you might be!

It’s officially the 1st of January here where I’m at, so we’re definitely “into” the New Year now. After the celebrations last night (for those of you that did celebrate and party hard), it’s now time to wake up, get moving, and get “back to business”, as they say. And thats the way I like it.

Anyway, what I’m going to talk about today is perserverance in all areas of your life, be it training-wise, or even other regards (work, relationships etc). Perseverance is probably one of the most, if not THE most important factors that will determine your success in whatever you do. I don’t think I need to explain the why’s here, but I’ll try and explain what exactly I mean by perseverance anyway.

In my book, perserverance can be broken down into three main categories (which are inter-related, of course): -

1. Keep trying/striving, no matter what the odds are; in other words, NEVER GIVE UP. Doesn’t really sound too complicated, but to put this in perspective, let me give you an example from Mother Nature itself. I was watching a show on Discovery the other day “Surviving the Drought” (by the way, thats one of my favorite channels). This show is set in the African jungle, and as the title says, it’s about how the animals survive the long, hot summers until the rain arrives. Anyway, part of the show was about a pride of lionesses along with their cubs, trying to survive the long summer. One day, the lionesses decide to try and hunt buffaloes (which they generally avoid, due to their huge size), but things go wrong, and the herd stampedes, and manages to get away. Which is fine, and that happens quite a lot in the animal kingdom, but the problem was that one of the lion cubs got caught up in the stampede, and managed to get his hind legs broken. Ouch! No doctors here to fix that problem, so he’s pretty much gotta live with it, and move on with life the best he can.

So, they then show the pride moving on, looking for more game etc, and they also show the little lion cub trying to move along with his front paws only, dragging pretty much his entire body along with him. Naturally we know his days are numbered, but try telling that to him. He moved through the best part of the show along with the pride, despite the disability. Despite the fact that the other cubs were getting stronger and bigger daily, and he was getting worse day by day. You could see the effort he made to just MOVE, but the little cub just DIDN’T GIVE UP. He kept trying, until he just couldn’t move any longer, and his mother had to eventually leave him to die. Kind of poignant, but this embodies the sprirt of perserverance perfectly, and explains it better than I ever could. Enough said on that one.

2. Discipline, and application of the right amount of effort. This part is self-explanatory. Don’t miss workouts unless you HAVE to (no “I’m feeling tired” etc when you know you should be training), and when you train, make the time count. Don’t just go through the motions, but work every exercise, every set, every rep like it’s your last. There is a huge difference between training HARD, and simply going through the motions. The latter is guaranteed to produce little, or no lasting results, but stick to the first path, and you’ll do great.

3. Last, but by no means least, patience. Patience is the mother of all virtues (we’ve all heard that one), and it is so for a good reason. Things happen at a certain speed (provided the first two principles are adhered to), but trying to speed up the process doesn’t really work in the long run. Be patient, stick to your routine, and don’t get frustrated. Can’t do 500, or even 100 squats in a row?? No problem, start off with 50 a day, and stick to that for a month - and THEN see where you are after that month. Want to jump rope for 3 minutes straight, but can’t even get 10 reps down correctly? Work on getting 10, then 20, then 30. . . in a month or so, you’ll be surprising yourself with what you can do.

So, that, my friends is my understanding of perserverance, and also the “moral” of the post for today. Follow the above three pricinples, and you’ll be amazed at what you manage to achieve this year.

All for now. As always, get FIT - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Rope skipping is something I haven’t written about much. I’m not sure why I’ve been ignoring this simple tool (that can get you fit at the highest levels) for a while now, but, I recently started adding it back into my routine, and boy am I seeing results. I’ll attempt to explain some of the benefits of rope skipping in this post; look for future posts on this as well.

We all know (or at least, those that read this blog regularly ;)) what a wrestler’s workout routine primarily consists off, and how the exercises therein can benefit you (and make no mistake, they will benefit you if done correctly), but what about a boxer’s routine? A typical boxer’s routine consists of roadwork (running), sparring practice, practice on the bag, medicine ball etc - most of which is required for the boxer’s “trade”, but skipping rope and pushups are a staple in any boxer’s training. As for results, well, look at any boxer’s phyisque, and you’ll see for yourself. Boxers may not always be as solidly built overall as wrestlers, but when it comes to pure strength, speed, and stamina, they’re certainly no laggards there either. In fact, I’m yet to see an overweight boxer, or one whose core is not conditioned superbly. And a lot of that conditioning comes through one exercises (along with it’s variants): Rope skipping.

Sure, boxers train for hours on end, but the basic exercises they do are the same as YOU can do. And the good thing is, you don’t have to train for hours to get some of the same results they do. Sure, you may not look like a heavyweight boxer by just skipping, but the benefits of this exercise willl ensure overall gain in almost any activity/exercise you pursue.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the main benefits of skipping rope: -

- Solid cardiovascular strength/endurance workout (in one exercise), and major benefits for the heart/lungs in less than 1/2 the time it would take you by doing other forms of “cardio”.
- Perfect way to tone and build muscle in your legs, calves and butt (as well as your entire core). This is different from doing squats, which build strength and bulk in the legs, but don’t “shape” the legs quite as well as jumping does. To explain things better, let me give you an example from my own training: I haven’t been doing any squats for over TWO months now (thats right, over two months); but have been skipping regularly (I average around 500 skips per day), and my thigh measurement has gone up by a couple of inches. However, the “bulk” around my thighs is not so prominent any longer; instead, the muscles have become even leaner and “tighter”, if that makes sense. So if shapely and strong is what your looking for, this is the perfect exercise for you!
- A pretty decent forearm workout (especially if you use weighted ropes; I’ll get into this in the future).
- Can be a warmup, or an entire workout, depending on what you do, and the intensity.

. . . And much, much, more, but that should be enough for starters.

So, as you can see, skipping rope is another perfect example of a “fast and furious” routine that will get you in the best shape of your life. Like anything else you do need to work into slowly (don’t even attempt 500 skips at one go, or even one entire workout if you’ve never skipped before), but once you do get into the exercise, you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t been incorporating it into your routine before.

Well, that should be it for today. I’ll be writing about my own workouts with the rope shortly. In the meanwhile, stay safe, train hard - and as always - get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

It’s always great to try out new, and tougher exercises. Changing one’s exercise routine up a bit is something I’m a huge advocate of (I’ve covered this in previous posts as well), primarily because it forces your body to continually adapt to “different” stresses, thus growing stronger, but also because it keeps things interesting, and when something’s interesting, your far more likely to keep at it than if it’s the same old boring drill, day in and day out.

But, somtimes, the reverse is true as well i.e. going back to the basic exercises (not that you can’t change the basic exercises up, but most of us including myself tend to include a lot of different exercises sometimes, rather than variations of the basic ones), and working them HARD, concentrating on perfect form, and concentrating on making each rep better than the last. This holds especially true for “bad” days, or perhaps just days where you feel fatigued, and don’t really feel like doing a whole bunch of exercises in your routine.

I did this today - my workout today was primarily squats, and bridging (several variations of this). I was initially going to go ahead and do my normal routine (which includes a variety of abdominal exercises, as well as pushups), but I just wasn’t feeling “right” while doing my squats. My form was off, I wasn’t being able to concentrate well enough - and I natually got a lesser number of repetitions than I would normally in a given period of time. Tried doing Sumo squats, but my form was horrible on those as well. And as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been having some slight stomach trouble for a while (I won’t detail what exactly was going on - but suffice it to say my stomach felt a bit bloated, and gassy) - so that was another thing (I’ll post more on that one later - an upset stomach can really screw up your workout big time).

At that point, I decided I had two choices: - a) end the workout there, or b) take a couple of exercises, and REALLY focus on them. And being the exercise-a-holic that I am, I natually chose option b).

I went back and redid the Hindu squats, focusing on good form on EVERY rep. Did the same with the jumpers, but then instantly moved on to some stretching exercises for the thighs. REALLY worked those into the ground (instead of my other squat/lunge movements, which are a bit more advanced) - and then went on to the bridging. I concentrated hard on each variation of the bridge (there are several I’ve learnt, and believe me, done right, they are a workout unto themselves). Nothing fancy after that, except for some more stretches - but boy was I hammered at the end of the workout - and that too in a good way.

This also ties into mastering a specific exercise (I’ve written about that as well in the past, but I’ll let you use the search function to find it) - there are many, many ways to make the same exercise tougher, and more intense. Very few people manage to master an exercise at the highest levels - and if you can master more than a couple of exercises (agin, look for the post on “Mastering an exercise”), let me know - you’ve really got something at that point.

So, that’s something to chew upon for today - incorporate this principle every so often in your workout, and let me know how it goes!

As always - get fit - FAST!!

Rahul

Yup, I know I haven’t updated this thing for months, once again. . .A LOT of things have been happening in my life, and I just haven’t been able to spend as much time online (on the blog) as I’d have liked to - though that needs to change for sure. Anyhow, let me quit with the excuses here though, hehe, and jump right into the swing of things again. . .

So, I’ve been training hard for the past few months, despite my absence online, and I’ve been trying out a few new exercises as well, which I’ll be sharing with you shortly. Before that though, what I wanted to talk about today was that no matter how good one gets at an exercise (and it’s variations), you’ll find that there’s ALWAYS something to learn. I think I’ve covered this before is previous blog posts - but, I’ll go over it once more today.

First, I’ll start off by explaining why I’m saying this. As I was doing my Hindu squats today, I noticed that I wasn’t going up all the way today on the upward part of the movement. Now, the difference in range of motion was slight to be honest, and I probably wouldn’t even have noticed it if I wasn’t training in front of a mirror (which I am these days, because I’m training in my bedroom). But, I noticed I was going only about 95% or so on the upward part of the movement.

(BTW, that’s another tip - it’s sometimes a good idea to exercise in front of the mirror, not so you can admire yourself, but more to observe your form, whether your keeping back straight while doing the squats, etc etc. I’ve found this helps me a lot on “bad” days, when my form just seems to be off.)

My form and range of motion was correct on the way down (which is what most people emphasize) - but I ended up not concentrating as much on the thighs on the way up (instead concentrating more on the swing of the arms that bring one up), and thus wasn’t going up all the way. One should definitely concentrate on “dropping” down with control, however, one should also make sure that the legs are straight when one ends the “up” part of the movement, and not “almost” straight.

Sounds too little to be worried about, I know, but there’s a difference between doing an exercise in good form, and letter perfect form. And those of you that do work out regularly will instantly relate to what I’m talking about here.

It’s human to err - we’re not robots, and do end up concentrating on one part of the movement more than the other sometimes. But, the important thing is to note where one’s erring, and make sure one does all one can to make sure one’s form is perfect (or as close to perfect as it can get).

So, I’ll end on that note for today. Hopefully I’ll get around to updating the blog on a regular basis as I used to a few months before - touchwood on that one!!

As always - Get FIT - FAST!

Rahul

PS: To those who did sign up for the site - there have been quite a few users that have done that - a big thanks!

All,

The beauty of most (nay, all) the exercises that I talk about here on this blog is that there are virtually dozens, if not more, ways to make any ONE exercise more productive. You can do the exercise a certain way one day, and another way the next day - a good example would be fingertip pushups vs regular pushups. Slow the pace down one day, increase the next day. Vary your sets, reps, exercises - and there you have it - a perfect blend that never quite “tastes” the same, if I may say so.

Anyhow, I’ve talked about a lot of this before - today what I’m going to cover is how exercising on a different surface taxes the body differently. This fits in with my last post about morning walks in the park as well. . .

What I do these days is do my bodyweight stuff after my walk. And believe it or not, training on park soil can be tougher than training on a cement floor. For instance, I find the extended arm pushups to be virtually impossible to do in the earth - these require a solid hold on the ground, and a sweaty palm combined with slippery earth makes the exercise FAR tougher to do, purely for balance reasons. The same goes for reverse pushups.

So, yes, some exercises are tougher to do this way. On the other hand, actually DOING the exercise as mentioned makes it a more productive one, as your entire body is taxed more than doing it the regular way on a floor/mat - especially the forearms and grip.

And that’s just one example of how an exercise can be made more productive - simply do the same exercise on a slippery surface. You’ll find that maintaing your balance will become a workout in itself. The Iranian wrestlers of old knew this - they used to wrestle each other while covered in oil - this made it far harder to grip the opponent’s body, and thus developed the grip and forearms a lot more.

Word of caution: Make sure you don’t strain your wrists on some of the exercises if you do them on soil or otherwise slippery surfaces. Great to do for the grip, but strike a balance between safety and pushing it. No sense in ending up with sprained wrists, shoulders, or ankles. . .

Further, we aren’t limited to simply grip building here. The park I walk in has several slopes - and I do my pushups on the slopes. Trust me, doing pushups on a sloping surface is tougher than it seems - and when you mix in tablemakers - WHAM!

Then, we come to exercising with shoes, and without. I generally exercise barefoot at home, but have been doing my squats etc with shoes in the park. Different feel to it for sure, but I don’t feel it as much in my toes as I would if I did these barefoot.

I do my pull ups on a THICK monkey bar - talk about an awesome forearm workout, and better overall upper body strength from these!!

I could go on and on - but you get the picture - your imagination is the only barrier when it comes to making an exercise more productive.

All for now. Do write in and let me know how your workouts have been coming along!!

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Well, I know I’ve been pretty lax on updating the blog the last couple of weeks or so - and I apologize for this. I’ve been dealing with a myriad variety of personal issues as of late that have left me with little or no time to even check my emails, let alone update the blog. . .and on top of that, I’m coming off a nasty stomach bug that I picked up due to a combination of heat, over exercising (hint, hint!), too much running around, and other things. Eventful week, maybe not pleasant all the time, but things seem to be working out as they should. . .

Anyway, as you might imagine, it’s become a bit tough to mix in working out (at my regular pace) with all this going on. I’m still getting my workouts in - but I’m back to 10 - 20 minutes of intense exercise, as compared to 40-45 earlier. Works just as well, and plus all the running around means a ton of walking in the heat, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but adds up over time. Especially when it’s humid - the humidity takes a toll on one’s body faster than you would think.

And this brings me to an oft overlooked exercises - WALKING!!

Walking can be a great exercise, if done correctly, and with the proper breathing. It works the entire body as a unit, only without the added stress on the joints that running brings. Here are just some of the benefits I’ve noticed while walking: -

- Solid workout for the calves; especially when power walking.
- Aids in chest expansion; especially when done “army style” i.e. chest out, back straight, and regular deep inhales with each stride.
- Provides an excellent warm up for the ENTIRE body - no real need for warm ups after a brisk walk.
- Improves digestion, as well as overall stamina.

Morning walks are excellent, as the weather’s cooler in the mornings (at least in the summers), but if you can’t manage a walk in the mornings, work it into your routine at night. Walk briskly, power walk if you would - but make sure you BREATHE correctly (inhale through the nose with every stride, exhale out through the mouth afterwards). And, you’ll soon feel the benefits through your entire body. I’ve often even felt my forearms tingling after a good solid walk through the park - the exercise can be that effective.

It’s even better if you can walk uphill - but if you don’t have any hills around you, you can substitute stairs. Either which way, work it in your schedule - you’ll be glad you did.

Walking is generally done for a longer period, due to the “relatively” easy nature of the exercise (i.e. it’s easier to walk briskly for an hour than do Sumo squats for 15 minutes straight) - but, combine your regular exercises with walking (preferably after your walk) and you’ll feel it for sure. Don’t be fooled into thinking the exercise is “easy” - in fact, I’ve noticed my numbers going down on some of the exercises after a walk - and I don’t need any further proof on that one.

And that’s just another example of a seemingly simple exercise, which can be used to great effect.

All for today. As always - get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

I’ve often said in the past that the Hindu squat is an excellent overall body conditioner. It would be incorrect to say that this is purely a “leg” exercise (though that IS the primary body part being worked) - done correctly, the Hindu squat works far, far more than just the legs.

I’ve covered how to make the Hindu squat an excellent inner thigh exercise in the past, and I’ve also gone into how to make it a great glute muscle developer. However, today’s short and effective tip will show you how to use the Hindu squat to give your shoulders a solid “secondary” workout as well!

And the tip is this: - instead of bringing your arms behind your back, bring them to your sides and then swing up. The rest of the motion remains the same - this is the only modification required. When doing this exercise, really concentrate on bringing yourself with your arms as well as the breathing - and you’ll notice the difference!

I feel this variation of squat far more in my shoulders, and I’ve also found that it lends to an excellent deep breathing workout - there have been times my stomach muscles of all things needed a gap while doing these. Not quite what you’d expect, perhaps, but that’s how these subtle variations can lead to a far more solid OVERALL body workout.

I’ve also found that I perform far better on my “max rep” pushups/pullups after the squats - perhaps because the shoulders are warmed up in their entirety at that point - but I’ve also found that the second set after that gets a lot harder. Which bears testament to the fact that this style of Hindu squat I’m talking about hits the shoulders in a different (and more intense) way than the regular way.

Make no mistake about it - the regular way is GREAT - but if your looking for a change, try this, or some of the other variations I’ve mentioned in the past. And of course you can change the way you do some other exercises as well - I’ve covered that in the past as well.

All for now. As always, get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Pushups are an excellent, but oft-forgotten exercise that can be used to get in great shape, and fast. I’ve written many times about this fantastic exercise, but it’s never enough, and today, I’ll cover the benefits of doing pushups, as well as include a small tip on how to do ‘em better.

There is a reason why the pushup is a staple in the workouts of most professional atheletes, the military, and martial artists. Take a look at boxers and wrestlers - they do hundreds of pushups (and squats) daily. The same goes for the military (drop and give me 20!) - as well as martial artists. There should be no further reason as to why YOU should include them into your workout as well, but for some reason, pushups have slipped out of favor with the “gym crowd”, who instead focus on the bench press, dumbell or barbell curls, while ignoring the old favorite.

Now I’m not saying those exercises are bad per se (though bench pressing is known to have caused injuries for many) - but what I’m saying is that the pushup is a FAR better choice than MOST of the chest building exercises out there. Pushups done correctly work the entire body as a single unit - and if you do different types of pushups as I adovcate, your working the back, chest, arms, hips, legs - and even your toes.

Let’s see - the regular pushups work the legs, chest, back, shoulders, and triceps. The tablemakers and reverse pushups work the back and legs a lot more - while the extended arm pushup is primarily shoulders, lower back, and core. So as you can see, there isn’t a muscle that isn’t worked. And if your worried about the biceps and fingers, fingertip pushups take care of that minor detail as well.

In addition, high-rep pushup workouts build amazing lung power and endurance - try it, and see!

And perhaps best of all - pushups require no equipment, and a minimal time investment (I take about 8 minutes or so to bang out 100 assorted pushups). Can’t ask for more (or less) - can you??

Now, on to the tip - to make your form even better while performing this excellent exercise, focus on your thighs during the movement. Yes, that’s right - the thighs! Make sure your form is perfect - and then really “dig” your toes into the ground, while flexing the thighs hard. This little detail will make your pushups that much better, improve form - and give your core one hell of a workout (flexing the thighs in that position automatically taxes the core muscles).

So without further ado - get on those pushups! You’ll be glad you did once you see the changes for the better in your body.

All for now.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Ok, the last post made reference to the facts that a) I was suffering from a slight injury and b) I haven’t been training legs full bore this week. Add on point c) which is that I’ve been suffering from a combination of the flu, mild fever (gone now) and a nasty cold/sore throat, and you can say the week’s been less than ideal for me in many regards. . .some not mentioned here as well.

Be that as it may, I woke up this morning without feeling much of the “slight twinge” that I referred to in my last post. Did some hamstring stretches, touched my toes about 15 times in perfect form, stayed in the “downward dog” position a while, all good thus far. Then attempted a squat or two, and then five - and when I didn’t feel too much in the area mentioned in my last post (except some slight residual twinges), I knew it was time to get back to my leg work. And truth be told, I was damn happy about it - training without training legs just don’t “cut the mustard” for me if you get my drift.

Anyhow, so now came the question - do I go full bore, start off with the toughies, etc etc? I decided not - too much too soon, and I’d be back saddled with the same injury issue as before. I figured I’d do about 10 minutes of leg work, 10 minutes of pushups, and throw in some stretches, the back/front bridge, and pull ups for good measure.

So, a total of 40 minutes today - and I feel GREAT now! The cold/sore throat is still there, but the deep breathing which naturally accompanies leg work has cleared my sinuses up a lot it seems - and my entire body feels hammered in a good way. It’s that feeling you just can’t get without training legs - the way leg training hits the entire body is unlike any other. You can do pushups all day long, or weighted pull ups, but nothing really cuts it like training legs HARD and intense.

I did ONE set each of Hindu squats, sumo squats, jumpers, and some miscallaneous leg work, and boy was it worth it. Normally do about two sets of each, but like I said, one needs to ease back into the groove rather than push back into it.

So - moral of the post? If your coming off an injury, illness, whatever - start off with training that involves some deep breathing, and overall body work - and “ease back” into your tougher exercises/higher reps. Before you know it, you’ll be back in the swing of things in no time!

And of course - don’t skip the leg work - make it the #1 priority in your routine, if it isn’t already.

All for now - be back again soon.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul