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

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

All,

Injuries/annoying little “niggles” are a part and parcel of life for those that train regularly. Minor niggles are so frequent that they don’t even bear mentioning, but sometimes the injuries are a bit more serious. The question then begets - should one give the workouts a break till the injury heals fully? Should one train with the injury, braving the pain as far as possible? Or should one train “around” the injury if possible?

Keep in mind that I’m assuming the injury is not something as serious as a torn hamstring, broken arm, or something as major - in that case, you really have no option other than to rest up, and let the injured body part heal. I’m referring to relatively “minor” injuries i.e. say a muscle sprain, maybe a bruised ligament in the knee joint, and so forth.

The best answer in my opinion would be #3 i.e. train “around” the injury. Not training at all is obviously not the answer, and neither is training “with” the injury, as that might aggravate the problem to the point where it might become “serious” and necessitate taking a break altogether. No, the right thing to do then is to train “around” the injury. How, you ask?

Well, it’s easy, really - especially if your following a program such as I am, which emphasizes full body participation (direct or indirect) during the exercises. I’m currently suffering from a minor injury to the glute muscles - my left glute, to be exact - it’s either a sprained muscle, or perhaps a pulled muscle. Whatever it is, it’s not so painful that I can’t squat at all, but I definitely feel it everytime I’m trying to do a squatting exercises that taxes the glutes (Hindu squats, Sumo squats), etc.

Therefore, what I did today was omit leg training from my routine (something I never do) and concentrate on the rest of my workout (pushups, pullups, and bridging). Now, a lot of those tax the glutes as well, but “indirectly”, so the actual muscle hurt is not being taxed as heavily during the movement. But, I still got in a pretty good workout - and there was plenty of blood flow to the injured muscle, which will aid speedy recovery.

Keep in mind also that it’s easy to want to train the injured area anyway - I know this is the case with me - my leg exercises are something I can’t do without, and the “buzz” (as well as overall body workout) I get from training legs is second to NONE - therefore, it was hard for me not to train legs today. But, thats what I had to do to ensure that I a) got a good workout in regardless and b) didn’t strain the injured area more than I need to, so thats what I did.

That goes for all body parts, by the way. So if your suffering from an injury to the traps, you might want to hit the squats extra harder - they’ll give the traps plenty of “indirect” work, but won’t directly tax the affected area and impede recovery.

And that, my friend, is today’s tip.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

The summer’s well and truly upon us (and it’s just begun!) in terms of rising temperatures, and heat waves for many of us. And today’s post is going to be about training in the heat (which most serious trainees will be doing), and how it affects your body, and consequently, the results you achieve from your routine.

Now, before I get into this - I’d like to preface my statements by saying weather (clement or not) is NOT a reason to skip training (or to start training, for that matter). Sure, you may change things up a bit i.e. you might choose to train at a cooler time of the day in summer, or you might choose to add more indoor work in in place of climbing a hill if it’s stormy weather outside - but the bottom line still is, and remains, train no matter what.

On to the subject matter of today’s post - I’ve always said training in the heat makes one tougher, and gives one greater “focus”. The very act of not quitting when the sweat is dripping off you, and your heart is pounding like a sledgehammer makes you mentally tougher, and the focus developed thus benefits you in all aspects of life, physical or non-physical.

That said, the heat does take a toll on one’s body, and makes some of the tough exercises even tougher. So for instance a set of Sumo squats (a toughie) may take longer to complete in a hotter environment than a cooler one - and even longer if it’s really hot AND humid where your training. Same goes for all other physically taxing activities - and this in turn takes a toll on your body, demanding a) more recovery time and b) more energy to be spent during the workout. Also, most of us are not training “full-time” i.e. we have jobs to keep, lives to lead, and we need all the energy we can get for those endavors as well.

So if it’s real hot where your training, you might want to consider training during a cooler time of the day, if just to conserve energy for workouts to come, and (more importantly) your entire day ahead. Also, it is easier to improve in some of the tougher exercises in a cooler environment than a hotter one. . . purely because the heat and humidity saps you quicker than any exercise will.

The “pro” to the heat though is that if you do well when it’s hot - then you’ll do EVEN better when it’s cooler weather! Trust me, if you can bang out a record number of pushups in the heat, you will be banging way more out in pleasant weather - simply because your body has adapted to doing pushups in a tough environment, making the second instance (doing them in an easier environment) a cinch.

Of course, if you enjoy training in the heat, then by all means do so - but if you find yourself getting fatigued after your workout (more so than normal), then you may want to consider either working out at a different time of the day, or perhaps choose a cooler environment.

So, pros and cons to both - but end of the day, one thing remains constant - and that is - TO TRAIN, no matter what!

Bottom line - do what works for you, and produces results - and you’ll be all the better off for doing so.

All for now!

Rahul