How Intense Should My Training?

As aging athletes, it’s hard to determine what type of intensity is optimal for your workouts. After all, harder is better right? Not so fast! In my experience working with thousands of individuals in my career, the clients that were most successful in reaching their goals didn’t go 100% all the time. In fact they rarely went 100% (that’s in weight training and cardio). Why? As aging athletes, stress tends to run our world (work, kids, etc.). Adding more stress to an already stressed system only causes progress to slow. To create change in your body, you need to add enough stress to the system for the body to respond and grow stronger, and then stop. In fact, their is research to back up the claim that if you want to improve strength and size, you actually require less stress, than more stress (1).

On rare occasions, I’ll work with clients and we will “open up the taps” at the end of workouts (see video below of Prof G crushing a Ski Erg Sprint). These efforts are done to assess where an individuals progress is, feelings of euphoria/achievement, and adjusting what our efforts feel like. However, the all out efforts are always done in a safe manner for the body (loads are lower and competency of the movements are high). I will never take my clients to uncharted waters without them knowing, with confidence, what they are doing.

If you are smashing your head against the wall in your workouts, but aren’t seeing progress, the answer probably isn’t harder. The answer is most likely less but smarter. Need help charting a course to the best version of you? I’m here to help! Sign-up for a free assessment today!

How to Workout in 30min?

Welcome back to another workout of the week!

This week, I put the baby down for a nap and knew I had just about 30 minutes to get a workout in. I decided to grab a kettlebell, my assault bike, and the DIY farmer's handles and complete a continuous 30 minute circuit:

10cals Assault Bike

2/arm Turkish Get-Up

50m Farmer's carry.

Tips for this workout:

1. This is a 30 minute workout so the pace should be continuous. If you were to time how long the rounds take, the first round should match the last round.

2. Take your time on the Turkish get-up and use perfect form. On these I would really focus on trying to reach up through the shoulder while keeping the ribcage down.

3. Go heavy on the farmer's carry. These DIY handles cost about $60 to make (compared to two handles plus weights would cost $150-$300). By the end of the 50 meters, you should be pretty gassed.

I post this workout to show you what my workouts look like on a regular basis. Nothing too fancy and 100% of the time they are under an hour. Goes to show to look and feel great, you don't have to spend hours in the gym. You just have to train smart, have an intention on working on what's important, and then be consistent. I hope this helps!

Looking for a personalized touch to your workout routine? Floch Fitness offers individualized training programs that are tailored to your skill level, equipment availability, and goals. Click the link in my below to sign-up for a free assessment.

20 Minute Strength/Endurance Workout

Finding time to workout can be a real pain. So many options! Do you do strength work? Maybe work on cardio? I don't have all day! Not to worry, here is a simple 20 minute workout that combines strength and endurance.

This workout is an 20 minute EMOM. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute. Every minute on the minute you will complete four reps of the dumbbell complex: row + push-up + row + push-up then stand with the dumbbells. Once you have completed four reps, rest the remainder of the minute. At the start of the next minute switch to the rower and complete 12 calories. The calories you complete should take ~30 seconds at a TOUGH effort, so scale up or down accordingly. If you don’t have a rower, perform a cyclical movement (jump rope, box step-ups, etc.) for 30 seconds at a high intensity.

A workout like this should take you about five minutes to warm-up for an then 20 minutes on the dot to complete. This would be perfect if you are trying to squeeze in a workout after getting home from the office, or maybe a hotel gym while you are on vacation. Either way, keep it simple and get it done!

Looking for a more personalized touch when it comes to your workouts? I’d love to help. Book a free assessment today and let’s work together to build the best version of you!

Athlete Spotlight: Jeff Cohen

Jeff has been a Floch Fitness client for over 6 years now, and he rarely misses a workout.  When I asked him where his motivation comes from, he chuckled.  “I hate working out.”  He continued,  “I wake up at 5:30am, and every morning I say, ‘I don’t want to workout.’  But I don’t rely on whether or not I want to workout to get the job done, I rely on my habit of getting out of bed, and getting to the gym.”  You see, Jeff has made going to the gym so ingrained into his life, it’s as normal to him as tying his shoes.  It’s this secret that has created consistency not only in Jeff’s fitness, but in both his professional and personal life as well.  Jeff is a successful attorney and business owner, loving husband and father, and he is an author as well! He released his first book last year entitled, The Wolf That Wins (available on Amazon).  

If you are looking to change your life, take a page out of Jeff’s playbook and work on your habits first.  From there, everything else becomes a lot easier.  Need some additional support?  I’m here to help.  Book a free assessment today, and let’s start constructing habits that will lead to the best version of you!

Cut Your Workout Time In Half!

Not having enough time to workout can be frustrating. Since having a child, the time I get to train has been cut down drastically. At times it can be frustrating and some days I throw my hands up and just say, "I'll come back tomorrow." In workouts for myself and my clients, I am able to cut the workout time in half by prescribing movements that are antagonistic to each other. This is called supersetting. Let me give you and example: Say you are working knee flexion in your training session and then you'd like to work on the back afterward.

Rather than hitting

A. Back Squat: 10reps x 3 sets; rest 2-3min

B. Split Squat: 12reps/leg x 3 sets; rest 1min b/t legs

C. Weighted Pull-Ups: 5reps x 3 sets; rest 2-3min

D. Bent Over Barbell Rows: 12 reps x 3 sets; rest 1-2min

I will superset the movements:

A1. Back Squat: 10reps x 3 sets; rest 1min

A2. Weighted Pull-Ups: 5reps x 3 sets; rest 1min

B1. Split Squat: 12reps/leg x 3 sets; rest 30sec b/t legs

B2. Bent Over Barbell Rows: 12 reps x 3 sets; 30sec

Because you are working opposing muscle groups, you can still get work done while the other muscle group recovers. Therefore, you can decrease rest times and be able to complete the same amount of work in half the time.

Looking to maximize efficiency in your training? I'd love to help. Click the link below to cut your workout time and increase your progress today!