Fast and Furious Fitness

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,

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

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

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,

Its gratifying to be able to reach a “maximum” number of reps in one set, in any exercise. We all remember the “Can you do a 100 pushups without resting” contests we had in high school. Of course, there many actually ended up doing it, but then they weren’t done in proper form most of the time. . .I’m referring to doing a max number of reps with CORRECT form. And not to impress the opposite sex either - reps done with THAT in mind are rarely done right either!

I don’t advocate shooting for a max number of reps EVERY workout. Of course, if your maximum number of squats (for example) is only 10, then it makes sense to make it a “decent” enough number to actually get a proper workout - say 50, or perhaps 75. But, if doing 250 squats in one set is your goal, then I wouldn’t advocate doing that many daily. Do 100 one day, maybe sets of 75 the next day, and then 250 the third. Mix things up that way, and the “max” number of reps will be attainable, as your body won’t burn itself out going for broke daily.

(The exception to this are pro atheletes - but then they have many of the “benefits” that “normal” folk may or may not have, i.e. they don’t have a job to go to after working out, they get sports massages regularly, etc etc.)

Anyway, the tip I’m sharing today may actually surprise some of you - it is to actually slow the workout down a wee bit, to achieve those numbers you’ve always wanted to get.

As always, I’ll give you an example from my own workout. My workouts are usually done with little rest between sets (i.e. squats - jumper squats - lunges and so on and so forth -with minimal rest). And that works great for me - BUT, I don’t go for broke daily. The days I do go for broke - I slow it down a bit. For instance, I slowed the tempo down just a BIT today, so that I Was slightly less out of breath between exercises. Probably took 1/2 a minute more to “recuperate” between sets. Did this throughout the entire workout - and achieved great numbers on many of the exercises, jumper squats and table maker pushups being two of them (amongst others, but those two were the ones I did the “best” today).

The advantage of employing this technique every once in a while is that it gives your muscles a fair chance to go for a max number of reps, and also, keeps that focus laser sharp i.e. don’t just pant between sets - actually THINK about the next exercise while taking that 1/2 minute more. Try this technique - you’ll definitely find yourself moving towards the higher numbers using this!

Of course, I don’t advocate doing this daily - perhaps once, or maybe twice a week is enough. The rest of the time, do your exercises at the normal pace, and you’ll do just fine.

That’s today’s tip - try it, and let me know how it works!!

Rahul

All,

Getting stuck in a “rut” occurs to most, if not all trainees at some point in their training careers. In fact if your a serious trainee, then chances are you’ve experienced this feeling more than once.

Now, there are two things that might be occuring. It could either be overtraining, in which case I’d simply advise you to back off. But, if it’s more a case of getting stuck in a rut, or a training plateau as some call it, then read on.

Your body gets used to doing the same thing over and over again. For instance, let’s say you do a 100 pushups, and 100 squats daily, in that order. Now, is this a bad workout? Not at all -in fact, if you DO this, or similar workouts on a daily basis, then your likely in pretty good shape already. But, there might come a time (in fact there likely WILL come a time) when this workout starts to get “stale”. You may find yourself not wanting to do the same thing over and over again. Or, you may find yourself starting to dread the workout, not because it’s hard, but because it’s just gotten boring to do the same thing over and over again. Or, and this is quite common as well, your progress in those exercises might stop altogether - for instance, if your goal is to do 50 jumping squats in a row, then you might just stay stuck on 40 for a while. Remember, your muscles need to be “pushed” out of their comfort zone in order to grow!

So, how to break out of this rut??

Well, there are many ways, but two of the most useful ones are to a) change the order of exercises up, and b) not get overly hung up on how many numbers one can do in a single set, or overall.

For instance, my regular leg workout usually comprised of ~100 squats, 50 jumping squats, Sumo squats, jump l unges, and a few exercises on the floor. In that order. But, as of late - I was getting a bit bored with this routine, and my progress seems to have been stalling as well. So, what I did today was change the order up a bit, as well as the numbers: -

- 50 regular squats
- 10 Sumo squats (each leg)
- 10 jumping lunges on each leg
- 30 regular squats
- 25 jumping squats
- 20 jumping squats
- and I finished off with 10 jumping lunges, and a couple of “floor” exercises.

I applied this same principle to my pushups as well, and also my pull ups. The result?? From not feeling like working out at all initially, I had a SUPER workout, and it was actually way more intense than usual, as I changed the way my muscles were being hit. All in all, I’d say a good deal!

There are other ways to change things up as well - but, I only have access to my bodyweight exercises for now (no hills, no swimming pool), so I’m doing what I can for now, and what works best, given the limitations.

Did I do a 100 squats in a row? No, not this time. But, I got a great workout in without doing that many in a row (one set).

Is it bad to shoot for a 100 in a row? No, absolutely not. You can get a great workout in by doing that many in a row (one set).

There’s a coupla lessons hidden in there someplace. See if you can find ‘em!

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul