What Equipment do you need?

Here is a friendly reminder that you do not have to belong to a gym to have a great workout. Exercising in your garage, backyard, or a park is always an option!

Since stepping away from owning and operating a gym, I have spent most of my time working with clients outdoors with minimal equipment. I am often asked what the essential pieces of equipment are in order to be able to train the entire body. Here is a list of a few inexpensive equipment purchases you can make to supercharge your workouts:

1. TRX (~$100)-I have spoke about TRX in the past, but I can’t emphasize enough how many great exercises you can do with the TRX. You can even hang them from a tree!

2. Adjustable Dumbbells (~$120)-You’d be surprised at how many exercises you can get done with a simple pair of dumbbells, especially unilateral movements. In addition you can do almost all the barbell movements you love with dumbbells (and the are often much more challenging)!

3. Kettlebell (~$30-$100)-For this piece of equipment I would keep it in the moderate to heavy range. This will give you the ability to go heavier on bilateral squats, deadlifts, and use it for conditioning movements like swings, cleans, and snatches. As a bonus, you can use it as resistance for drags and pulls in the sand (video to come)

4. Step/Bench Combo (~$130)- Not only can you use this piece of equipment for cardio, but there are a ton of different squat, row, and hip thrusts exercises that I use with this step combo.

Once you have your equipment, the next step is creating an exercise routine that works for you and your goals! If you need help constructing a program that you can stick to, I’m here to help! Click the link below to book a free assessment.

Sets, Reps, Rest, and Tempo...

One of the fundamentals of both strength training and conditioning work is knowing how to manipulate the sets, reps, rest, and tempo of various exercises in order to get a desired affect. For instance, if told you to do 5 sets of 10 squats at your own pace versus 10 sets of 10 squats done at a 4 second negative and 3 second pause at the bottom resting only 20 seconds between sets, you are going to have a much different workout.

To master these variables, it takes years of educating yourself with data, research, and proven techniques blended with self discovery. One of the most challenging workouts I have ever performed is 10 sets of 10 reps with a 4 second eccentric (with gravity) and 2 second positive (against gravity) along with 60-120seconds rest between sets. This type of work was popularized by Charles Poliquin and he termed it “German Volume Training.” These workouts are designed to produce tons of lactic acid and muscle breakdown which could lead (under the right conditions) to fat loss and muscle gain. If you are looking to give this a try, pick a movement that you are comfortable with and possess good technique (you can use machines in the gym as well like a lat pulldown or leg extension machine). Let’s use the bench press. Perform 10 repetitions with a weight that you can do 20 times for a maximum (so if you 20 rep max is 100lbs., use that). Each rep should take 4 seconds to get down to your chest before you start pushing back up and take 2 seconds to lock out. There should not be any pauses at the top or bottom. After 10 reps, rest exactly 2 minutes, and go again, repeating until you get to 10 sets (100 reps). If you start to fail in the sets, that’s fine. Stop, rest 2 minutes, then start the next set. Do not force reps. Do not repeat sets. Over time (from week to week) you will be able to complete the entire workout. When you do, increase the weight by 5% and then try to complete it again. You can do this for weeks on end and see some serious improvements in body composition as a result. I will warn you though, these works are really hard. Like, you may need a nap after the workout hard. You can also try this from home with bodyweight movements as well (e.g. push-up, body rows, and squats). Give it a shot for your next workout!

To learn more about sets, reps, tempo, and rest, list to Scott Hagnas and I’s most recent podcast!

Do you workouts need work? I’m here to help! Book a free assessment today!

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!

My 5 Favorite Assault Bike Workouts For Aging Athletes

Assault Airbike is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in the gym. However, there are few workouts that I prefer over many others and you might choose one of these workout for your next training session.

1. 30 seconds Hard/30 seconds Easy x 10-30sets- This is a great simple workout that is easy to execute and leads to great results. For beginners, I would start with 10 sets shooting for an 80% effort during the "hard" go, and simply spinning during the "easy" go. For more advanced athletes, you can increase the number of sets and aim for the effort you would give for a 90 second all out for your 30 second "hard" intervals.

2. 60 Minutes Easy-Joel Jamieson, strength and conditioning guru who has coached world class athletes, calls this the Cardiac Output Method. Riding the bike for 60 minutes is another simple workout that is sounds harder than it actually is. The purpose of this workout is to increase pacing abilities, recover from previous training sessions, increase blood volume to the heart and so much more.

3. Tabata Intervals-20sec @ 100%,10sec rest x 8 rounds. Depending on the individual, this may be the hardest workout you have ever done, especially if you have never gone all out on an Assault Bike before. The purpose of this workout is to drive your heart rate as high as it can, as fast as you can, and attempt to maintain intensity throughout. If done properly, most people will have a fall off in power, even though their effort may still be high. This is supposed to happen. It is near impossible to give your 100%, then rest only 10 seconds, without seeing drop off within a few sets. By the end of this workout, you should be a some substantial discomfort. This is a great workout if you are short on time, or you need something to polish off your workout.

4. 1min @ 97%; rest 3-6min x 4-8 sets-Much like the previous method, discomfort is the name of the game here. Lactate Power Intervals are designed to increase the bodies ability to tolerate and utilize lactate as a fuel source. In other words, you get used to feeling "the burn" and you can keep going. For beginners, stick to a few sets but keep the effort high. The rest times are designed to get you fully recovered for the next interval. To ensure you are doing this workout properly, record the number of cals from set to set. If you see a dip in calories greater than 10%, terminate the workout. If after the prescribed rest you aren't able to maintain the same output, terminate the workout and plan for more rest the next workout.

5. 10 Minute Max Calories-This is a gold standard in the functional fitness world for aerobic power. Hitting over ~200cals has been the pass fail for elite male athletes, whereas over ~160 for female elite athletes. That means you are cruising at 16-20cals/minute for 10 minutes, a truly daunting feet. Most fitness enthusiasts won't come close to these marks, but this is a great way of measuring your fitness over time as there are few variables, and you don't need much equipment. As a bonus, you can wear a heart rate monitor to measure your average heart rate and max heart rate, which can be used for future training sessions.

The Assault Airbike has so many uses and these are just a few. In general, you can use the Airbike for short, medium, and long workouts, which is why I believe it is a must for anyone's home gym or fitness facility.

Has the Airbike kicked your butt in the past and you are looking to improve? Click the link to set up a free assessment today and let's start showing the bike who's boss!