Fast and Furious Fitness

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

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

So, today was another “long” workout. Not really long by the typical gym trainee standards - but, it lasted about an hour, and I was hammered at the end of it all. Sweat was dripping off me, and the summer’s just beginning here in all honesty. Each body part was worked throughly, and to the max.

And, I feel GREAT - not worn down or exhausted.

I worked every thing today - as I usually do. What made it better today is that I slowed it down just that extra bit, to enable me to focus and recover on form/execution of ALL the exercises.

And while doing so, I discovered another trick to the Sumo Squat. Without further do, here it is: - While coming down on the squat, really “bang” your foot down i.e. “stomp” while bringing your leg back from the extended “up” position. You’ll find this gives you a better workout in terms of breathing, and also in terms of muscle being worked.

Slowing it down just a little bit also gave me an opportunity to focus on something else which is of paramount importance - but, I’ll let you figure that one out. (Not so subtle) hint: It involves O2.

So, all in all, nothing really new - but, yet another great workout for the books. Which is going to be followed by another one.

And that, dear reader, is exactly how it should be. String together one great workout after the other, and you’ll be holding the keys to - and entering - a whole different world altogether.

I’ll end on that note. Oh, and I’ve been recieving a ton of comments (or should I say pingbacks) from sites - which I really do appreciate - but what is happening is that the comments don’t contain anything meaningful - its more like “xysayzkf http://sss.xxysa.” or “rock stars here - http:// . . . “. Please, by all means, visit the blog, and leave comments - but make sure they at least look like a human being wrote it.

Okay, enough for now. As always - get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

I spoke yesterday about the benefits of deep breathing, and why you should be incorporating it into your workouts as well (or make it a gentle workout in itself). Today I’ll give you a quick example from my own workout which illustrates just how useful deep breathing can be (in addition to what I’ve already said before).

What I did today was do a deep breathing exercise after each leg exercise today. So I did my Hindu squats, then a set of deep breathing exercises. Then jumpers, then deep breathing, and so forth. And I achieved personal bests in the following exercises: jumper squats, and jumping lunges - while doing all my other exercises in a more “rythmic” pattern, if that makes sense. Well, there’s obviously something to it then!

My own theory is that mixing in deep breathing with the regular workout has two advantages : a) giving your “regular” muscles a bit of a break and thus allowing them to come back stronger for the next exercise and b) “active recovery” i.e. the deep breathing flushes out the toxins which build up in the muscles during a workout.

It also has the effect of leaving me less drained after my workout - which is a good thing. You should feel “buzzed” and ready to go after a tough workout - rather than ready to flop down on the couch and snooze. And, I’ve found deep breathing aids a LOT to this end. Not to mention that it keeps the blood flowing effectively throughout the entire workout, and thats always a good thing.

So - try and devote a bit more time to deep breathing exercises, or just deep breathing alone in the right fashion - and let me know your findings!

And, I know I haven’t covered what exact breathing exercises I use, amongst a host of other stuff I want to cover. So much to cover, so little time. . .

All for now though -back tomorrow hopefully.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

So there I was, huffing and puffing away during my Sumo squats. Up, to the side, down, and back again on the other leg, and so forth. And while doing this, I realized two things: - a) I’ve not been paying enough attention to deep breathing - and breathing CORRECTLY during my workouts myself, and b) I haven’t been writing about this most important topic for a while now (I did write about it earlier, but not as of late).

a) happens. I’m human, and like the rest of you, I need a reminder from time to time as well. No biggie. . .

And I’ll address b) here - without further ado then, let’s delve into the topic!

First, it’s important to know HOW to breathe. Breathing is not akin to panting (hufffing and puffing, being out of breath, however you put it). You breathe in deeply through your nose, in CONTROL, and the breath should be deep and “fill your entire body”. Breathe from the pit of your stomach (bottom up), and “feel” the air filling your whole body, and saturating it with energy. And keep this up even when your out of breath - you’ll find it helps you get your strength/energy back a lot faster than puffing like a locomotive.

And deep breathing has many benefits, which I’ll attempt to cover here. First off, deep breathing when done right contributes to expansion of the chest from the “inside out”. You strengthen the diaphgram, and internal muscles surrounding it when you breathe deeply in a regular, rythmic pattern, and this naturally increases the overall size of your chest. In turn allowing for better development throughout the upper body.

Second, and most importantly perhaps, deep breathing revs the internal engine up, and KEEPS IT GOING. Think of it as a race car between races, or a fire througout the cold night. Would you want that engine “idling” and “purring”, or completely dead between races? Would you rather the fire be “stoked” regularly rather than not at all? I’d imagine yes in both cases - and this applies to your body as well. Deep breathing keeps things going, the blood pumping, and gives you a better workout overall.

Any time you slow down during your exercises, breathe in deeply, and do a tough exercise - and then see how you feel. You’ll know what I’m referring to!!

And last, there are breathing exercises in particular which can be used to give you a super “boost” during your workout - and can be used as a pretty good warmup by themselves. I’m going to cover these, and some other important exercises which I haven’t covered as of yet in a later post.

Out of time for now - so thats it for today! Do write in and let me know your thoughts.

Rahul

Today was one of those days I was feeling like a break, but I also knew that I didn’t “really” need one.

Sure, I was tired, sure, I was sore - and all of that. But deep down inside, I knew I really wasn’t supposed to be taking a break. Sure, I could (and did as a matter of fact) go lighter on some of the stuff I do, but bottom line was, I don’t need a break today.

So rather than pontificate and waste time trying to convince myself, I just dropped into a set of squats. I figured I’d do that, and THEN see how I felt, and take it from there. I did about 60 Hindu squats, then proceeded with some other exercises. . .And here I am, about 50 minutes or so later, dripping with sweat, and after a pretty damn good workout.

Sure, I didn’t break any world records. I went a bit slow on some of the exercises, and changed things up a bit. But despite all that - I got it done. No excuses, just me and the workout.

That’s a good one to remember, by the way. “Just you and your workout”. I’ll go more into that in a later post on focus. . .

Anyway, if your “undecided” about whether or not to go ahead with your routine, and deep down inside you know you need to be, then a good way to get started is to do something. I don’t care what it is - do a set of squats perhaps. Or, maybe some pushups. Just something - anything to get the blood flowing and the wheel in motion, so to speak. And you’ll see that your body automatically gets into the groove, and you’ll get a great workout.

So, thats today’s tip - hope it helps!!

All for now,

Rahul

That’s the principle I used this morning while training. This is an advanced variation, therefore, it may be unsuitable for those that are just starting out. But for those of you that are advanced trainees, read on. . . Hopefully this tip will help you in your training!

The method is basically what the name says - one hard, long, set. I concentrate more on the tougher exercises while applying this principle, which makes it even harder. What I generally do in my routine is two sets of each exercise, but here I combine both into ONE long set. I may take a breather (a very short one) in the middle, but it’s essentially one long, hard, ardous set which really gets the heart rate up, and the breathing going overtime.

For instance, here’s what I did with my sumos, jumpers and jumping lunges (note these are all tough exercises): -

20 reps of Sumo Squats on each leg
15 reps of Jumping Lunges
41 Jumper squats

and all this, done in a long set for each exercise. Sure, I took maybe a couple of seconds breather DURING each set, but that doesn’t make it any easier to be honest.

This technique may seem similar to “supersetting”, but there is one difference - the breather allows you to perform at about 75%-80% of your maximal capacity during the rest of the set. While supersetting you generally don’t take a breather at all, but that allows you to only perform at maybe 50% or less during the superset.

So, thats another different way to train. Amazing how many variations one can come up - which WORK if you just train.

And thats really all there is to it. TRAIN - and the rest will take care of itself.

All for now.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Today was again one of those days where I debated about taking a day off (it’s getting close to my “regular” off day). But, fortitude won out as it usually does, and I ended up learning something new, which I’m going to share with you today. Always something new to learn!

And today’s tip is on Sumo squats, and how the glutes can REALLY aid in correct, and BETTER execution of the exercise.

The “stretching” portion of this exercise (i.e. when you raise your leg ups to your sides to touch the bottom of your palm) is normally the hardest for most people. Might be because of a lack of flexibility in the groin muscles, or, it could simply be weak inner thighs or glutes. Either way, that portion of the exercise is the toughest for most people.

Try this tip to make it easier (and do better on this movement!): - As you rise from the squatting position, inhale deeply, but really squeeze the glutes while doing so. Inhale “into” the glutes - if that makes sense. Imagine your glutes “powering you up” to the standing position. Once there, the power you generate through your glutes will automatically transfer over to the rest of the muscles, and it’ll help you in getting the next portion of the movement done.

This little change will also make the exercise that much harder, but that much more productive, if done right. Done correctly, the Sumo squat is a KILLER, even when done in “low” reps such as 5-10 per leg.

Try it, and let me know how it works for you!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

You’ve often heard me speak about the benefits of deep breathing, both while working out and otherwise during your normal, daily activites. I’ve posted before about the benefits of the same, and I’m positive that those of you who have implemented what I say have experienced first hand the benefits. If not, well, all I can do is ask you to take ACTION. . .

Anyway, that aside, today I’m going to cover the benefits of doing SPECIALIZED deep breathing exercises during your routine. There’s deep breathing during the exercises, but there are exercise that focus on deep breathing and your core ALONE. I did these today in between sets during my regular leg workout, and let me tell you - I was breathing so hard at the end of it that I almost never made it to the rest of my workout!

The exercise I used today was the stomach vacum. I’ll cover it in detail some other time, but for now, let’s get into a couple (there are many!) of benefits of mixing such exercises up along with the regular ones:

1. Doing these specialized deep breathing exercises along with your regular exercises (without taking lengthy breaks) increases manifold the blood flow to your lungs and muscles. This gives your lungs a better workout, but also make sure that the muscles being worked prior to the exercise are getting “flushed” out pretty well. Thus leading to the second benefit:

2. Better, and FASTER execution of your “primary” exercises (I mixed these up today along with the leg exercises, but you can mix them along with pull ups, pushups, anything - and even though I did them along with my leg exercises, I finished my pushup workout in about 7 minutes - 100 pushups in about 7 minutes, in good form - not bad!).

There are many benefits, and these are just two. If you think this is too simple of a tip - well, TRY it, and you’ll see for yourself.

And last, make sure you focus HARD on the breathing exercises - do not simply treat it as a “break” of sorts. That’s the key to really getting these to work for you.

A bit pressed for time - so signing off for now. In the meantime - get FIT - FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

After the squat, and it’s variations, the next exercise that should be in everyone’s routine is the pushup. This one exercise alone will strengthen your entire body from head to toe, and is well worth the time and effort invested in performing the exercise - which, if done correctly, is not a lot of time at all. I get a 100 odd pushups in about 10 minutes or so, and that ain’t a long time to train.

1. Pushups train the ENTIRE body - when done in all it’s variations, pushups train the forearms, fingers, arms, wrists, shoulders, traps, entire back and - gasp - even your legs (thighs, hips, buttocks, and calves). Your feet get work as well, so this is literally an “entire body” exercise.

2. The “pushing” movement involved while doing pushups builds strength throughout the ENTIRE body. Pushups, when done correctly give you a solid cardiovascular workout as well. Try doing a 100 pushups (or, however many sets it takes you to get there) in GOOD form in 10 minutes or less. It ain’t easy. And the deep breathing involved while doing pushups makes you get stronger throughout your entire body.

3. Pushups can be done by virtually anyone, and require NO equipment except your body. And due to the fact that your entire body participates in this exercise, it is often easier to do for trainees that are just starting out, or trainees that are slightly overweight.

You may not be able to do too many pullups - but, the pushups is something just about anyone can work up to.

And NO, pushups are not the “easy” exercise they are made out to be. They DO have major strength benefits. You’d think this would be obvious; the Marines do a huge number of these on a regular basis, and last time I checked, a Marine was pretty damn strong. Likewise for boxers and wrestlers - pushups done in high repititions along with squats and bridging form the basis of their workouts as well.

Pushups give you REAL, FUNCTIONAL strength that just cannot be gotten from other pushing exercises involving weights. And that’s something you can’t beat.

Here is a 10-12 minute workout that’s guaranteed to get the lungs pumping, and the entire body working as a whole: -

- 25 regular pushups
- 20 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 Reverse pushups
- 10 Arms extended pushups
- 15 regular pushups
- 10-15 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 reverse pushups
- 10 arms extended pushups
- 10 fingertip pushups

(Information on how to do the exercises can be found on the site - see “information section” for same)

So, about 110 - 130 odd pushups, in about 12 minutes or so. I cannot also emphasize enough the importance of FORM and BREATHING; do either of these incorrectly, and you might as well not do the routine.

And for those of you that are wondering - yes, I’ve used this routine. Used it in today’s workout, as a matter of fact. . .

And if you can do that without breaking too much of a sweat (though I’ll be honest - I don’t know too many people that can), then no problem. Let me know, and I’ll put together a routine for you that’ll have you puffing in on time - and, it will involve nothing other than pushups.

Bottom line - train your pushups hard, and without fail! The rewards you reap in terms of physical strength, conditioning and fitness will be well worth it.

Rahul