Fast and Furious Fitness

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,

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

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

I’ve been toying with a new way of making the jumper squats a bit more taxing for a while now, and it looks like I’ve found the right way.

First off, allow me to preface by saying the jumper squat is an advanced exercise, and beginners should not just jump into this exercise (no pun intended there). Get good at the regular squats, then the regular jumps, and THEN look for ways to make it harder.

Since I don’t have an information page on how to do jumper squats as yet, I’ll explain briefly: Start off in the regular Hindu Squat position - but, in the down position, while going up, don’t just power “up” - power a few inches back - and then return to the starting position - all in the same movement. This little twist makes the exercise all the more difficult, and really hits the calves and buttocks in a big way.

I usually do these in sets of 25 - 35 after my regular squats (or after the Sumos); make no mistake about it, they are tough, and will get you in GREAT shape - FAST.

Yet, there is ALWAYS a way to make the same exercise more productive. And that is - while doing the squats, and jumping “back” a few inches - jump UP a bit more WHILE jumping back. Imagine a kangaroo - jumping high and far - only backwards.

The “extra” jump in the movement really hits the buttocks in a big way - you’ll also feel your thighs “loosen up” as the extra jumping necessitates straightening of the entire leg, and stretches the entifre thigh muscle out, more so than perhaps while simply jumping up a little and back.

Try this one out, and see how it feels. I tried it today - and was sweating within a minute or so of doing these!

All for now.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Control, and form. These two words have entirely different meanings, but are yet analogous when it comes to exercise. One depends upon the other, and the other cannot be utilized to its full potential without one. Symbiotic would be a good way to put it, or perhaps “inter-connected. Semantics aside though, it’s important to concentrate on both equally hard.

Form is of paramount importance, as I have mentioned many times before, but “controlling” that form is equally important, and is part of form when you think about it. While doing the Hindu squat, you maintain good form - but you also maintain CONTROL during the movement. The descent, the ascent, the swinging of the arms, all this occurs in a CONTROLLED, rythmic pattern - and in good form.

And obviously, control without form is no good. Think of doing an exercise the wrong way, but controlling that wrong form. No use there either.

It is important to take some time out both during, after your exercise routine to concentrate on this. Sure, you don’t need to be dilly dallying during your workout - but, make sure your doing things correctly and in control.

It can get hard to maintain right form and control during some of the tougher exercises, and to do so one can use “visuals” to help during the exercise. For instance, I imagine that I am trying to knock someone out with a sideways kick while in the “up portion” of the Sumo squat - so there is an imaginary chin that I need to target rather than my outstretched palm (and for more information on how to do the Sumo Squats, do a search). I know I need to control my movement, so I don’t injure my groin - I also know I need to move fast, and keep moving fast. And that’s one example. You can use a more non-violent visualization if you wish - think of dislodging a brick stuck at a high level, maybe.

So, as you can see, form and control and analogous. One depends on the other, the other leads to the first, and vice versa.

Make sure to concentrate on both and strike a good balance between the two - and you’ll do just fine.

All for now!!

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Today, I’ll cover those three topics.

First, the stretching part - this is a question brought up by most trainees. Should one stretch before a workout, or after a workout? There are two schools of thought here - many say it’s best to stretch AFTER a workout to avoid injury, and there are some that way it’s best to stretch BEFORE a workout, curiously enough, again, to avoid injury.

My own answer differs slightly - I would say stretch both before, and after a workout. As far as I can see, stretching the muscles has two major benefits: warming the muscle up for major work to come, and stretching the “tension” out of the muscle. So, what I do is stretch “lightly” before a workout, pretty much so I can get warmed up for my routine, and also to “get the blood flowing”. I do gentle stretches, such as the “downward dog” position in yoga (there are ways to make this hard, but I “work” into the position). Or, I might hang for a bit from the pull up bar to stretch my back out. Depends, really.

Then, there are the tougher stretches such as the bridge position, or the sumo squats. These are done either during, or after my workout (once I’m warmed up). Goal there is to stretch and strengthen, rather than just “warm up”.

So, I’d say do both. Or, do just one initially, and work the other one in. As with most training related questions, no “one size fits all” answer to this one!

Now, the “two set max” routine (I call it that but you can call it anything you wish) - this one is a “quick and dirty” workout for the legs (though, you can do this for virtually any exercise), and to a lesser degree, entire body (remember, when you work legs intensely, and breathe correct, your working the ENTIRE body).

- 50 Hindu squats
- 5-10 Sumo ssquats on each leg
- 25 Jumper squats
- 10 jumping lunges (each leg)
- Repeat

So, not a very “complicated” routine, but a great one to get done quickly (shoot for about 8-10 minutes at most), and a great one to get done for those “in-between” days as well, where you need a workout, but maybe don’t want to shatter any records.

And last, but definitely not least, I’ve set the blog up so that you can register, and log into your own account. If you haven’t registered for the blog yet - do so pronto, and you’ll have access to many of the new features I’m planning on adding. A newsletter is at the top of the list, but there are others as well. So again, if you haven’t registered - do so NOW!

All for now!

Rahul

All,

It’s amazing - no matter how many times I do an exercise, even if it’s a seemingly simple one such as the Hindu squat, I end up finding new ways of making the exercise more productive. This ties in with what I had said earlier about mastering an exercise and what that really entails, so if you missed that one, probably not a bad idea to go back and read that once as well.

Anyway, that brings me to today’s tip - how to make the Hindu squat a “different” and in some ways harder exercise by really focusing on the breathing and the entire body during the exercise, rather than simply the “front” of the thighs, which are seemingly the muscles that are the most “important” in this exercise. Before the tip though, I will say that your legs need to be in good shape before you try this, so if your just starting out, stick with the regular squat for now and incorporate this one as you progress.

Turn your toes out slightly, or, perhaps a bit [em]more[/em] than slightly. Say about a 30 degree angle, give or take. . . And, THEN perform the Hindu squat. Make sure to keep the form GOOD i.e. hands behind your back as you descend, and make sure the “upward” motion of your hands bring you up rather than just your legs. Keep your back straight as well. Do this, and you’ll find the inner thighs, abs, and even glutes getting involved in the movement. Net result - a better workout for the ENTIRE body! And, this tip will eventually help you get higher numbers as well, as you are using more muscles during the exercises.

And always, breathe correctly - that is half the game right there. Rememeber too that the Hindu squat is NOT an isolationist movement for the thighs or even legs alone - like most of the other exercises I advocate, the ENTIRE body is involved. That can’t be stressed enough.

Something else I found interesting is that there is a direct carryover between this exercise (I’ve spoken about this before I believe, but with different exercises), and the Sumo Squat. Once I really started to work the Sumo squat, I quickly found out how much my inner thighs were lagging behind the rest of my legs. Not any longer, though.

Try this one the next time you squat, and let me know how it goes. I’ve personally added on quite a bit of mass following this routine, and done correctly, you will too!

That’s it for the day - as always, the comment feature is there if you need it.

Get fit - FAST.

Rahul

All,

What does it mean to truly “master” an exercise? 1000’s of reps in one set? Doing them super fast? Doing them with perfect form?

There are many serious trainees out there, who are proficient in various exercises, and have acheieved a good level of fitness, and continue to improve.

But, how many people can truly claim to have “mastered” an exercise?

To answer that question, let me attempt to explain what it truly means to “master” an exercise. . .

First, even the simplest of exercises can be made tougher by doing things just a little differently. There are infinite variations of even the SIMPLEST exercises, which will make the exercise that much harder. I’ll give you three examples beneath: -

#1) Table maker pushups: Point the toes outward slightly while doing this exercise, and concentrate on SQUEEZING the hamstrings, glutes, and thighs during this movement. Focus also on the inner thighs while doing this exercise (turning the toes outward makes this possible). This variations makes it harder to perform for those who have weaker inner things, or weak glutes.

#2) Reverse pushups - Concentrate on really “opening the shoulders up” during the up part of this movement. Extend the arms out all the way - yes, I know this is part of the regular movement, but go that extra inch. Really “get into the muscle” and “feel” it “open up”. Some of this is more mental, but at the end of the day, inputting a mental aspect into the exercise makes the physical part that much more challenging. Try it, and see!

#3) Hindu squats - Concentrate more on the balls of your feet, as well as the inner things during the movement instead of just the quadriceps - and you’ll feel the movement differently.

Note that these are just THREE examples - the theory applies to most, if not ALL exercises you do.

Now that we’ve estabilished that, back to the definition of “mastery”. A person may be able to knock off 25 tablemaker pushups in one set, but would he able to do these with the slight variation I mentioned in #1? Or, someone may be able to knock off hundreds of squats in a single set, but is their form and breathing absolutely correct on all the reps? Are they truly concentrating on the body as a whole while doing the exercise, or simply the thighs?

You get the picture - to be truly called a “master” at any one exercise, you would have to master all the possible (and importantly, PRACTICAL variations i.e. doing 1 Hindu squat per minute is a variation all right, but neither useful nor practical!). And even then, I’d bet you could come up with more ways to challenge yourself with that particular exercise.

Very few people, if any, master an exercise to the fullest. I know I am personally not at that level myself, though I will say I’m fairly fit, and up to 90% + mastery on a lot of the exercises I do. But, that last 10% is the 10% that matters.

So, what does it take to “master” an exercise? The basic things, really - focus hard on your reps - make sure you “change” the exercise up every once in a while - and you’ll be on your way to achieve mastery in that exercise. Once you do, drop me a line - nothing like hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak!

That’s it for this one. As always - get fit - and FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

Today I’m going to cover a very important topic, and that is when (and why) one should change one’s workout up.

Changing your routine every once in a while is very important to do, no matter what level of fitness you are currently at. There are some important reasons behind this, but, before I get into those, let me give you an example from my own training.

Most of you would have noticed by now that I’m a strong believer in high repetition squats when it comes to my leg workouts. A 100 Hindu squats, 25-50 Hindu jumper squats, perhaps holding the “chair” position against the wall for X amount of time, etc etc - it goes on. Those are great, but as of late, I’ve begun to notice that the high rep movements are getting “tougher” to complete in a way. Now, the strange thing is my lungs/legs don’t “give up” before the movement. However, I am noticing myself doing them in improper form when I get above a 50 or so - and, I’m starting to get a bit bored while doing these in higher reps.

Initially, I figured this was just a bad phase, so I stuck through it (there’s another lesson: keep at it, even through your bad phases); but, things didn’t improve. So what I did was change my routine up such that I did more exercises, but lower repetitions of the same exercise. In my case, one variation I used was breaking up the 100 squats into 150 (I know, not exactly breaking them up), but doing it thus: 50 Hindus, 25 jumpers, 20 Hindus, 20 jumpers, 20 Hindus, and 25 jumpers. Took me about 5 minutes in total, and then I went on with the rest of my stuff. And, my legs were hammered at the end of it, as were my buttocks!

Now, on to the reasons: -

- Your body gets “tired” of doing the same thing over and over again, be it a set number of pushups daily, or a set number of squats daily, or, for those of you who do other things, swimming X number of laps daily, etc etc. Now, I am NOT saying don’t exercise daily - far from it! But, sometimes, just sometimes, you need to “break out of the rut” by doing something different. In my case, it was doing more reps, but on different exercises. In your case, it could be replacing an intense bodyweight only leg workout with hill sprints, or perhaps swimming. Anything - just change things up, and your body will thank you for it!

- Changing things up forces your body to “adapt”. For instance, I used to concentrate on the thighs and back mostly while doing my neck bridge, but, as of late, I have started to focus more on the buttocks and back. The result? Solid growth in the glutes, and my thighs are better of for it as well, and the workout is far more intense than before.

- Last, but not least, it gives your mind a new challenge to focus upon. Makes things less “boring” (that term is relative, of course), and thats always a good thing.

So, keep these tips in mind the next time you are “stuck in a rut”. Try implementing them into your routine -and let me know how it works!

All for now - work out hard, and remember to change it up every once in a while!

Rahul

PS: Want to simaltaneously blast your back, legs, and core with ONE exercise? Well, you don’t have to look far - the humble pushup will do it! Or more specifically, the “extended arms” pushup will. I’ll cover benefits for these soon in another post - stay tuned!