Breakdown of W.O.W. #5 - Video to Post on jbwebtv.com Soon!

We have not posted a W.O.W video in a couple of weeks now, and that is because we have been working on securing a spot on a local cable television show.  The first show will air on June 10th...details will be posted soon.

For now, check out the breakdown of Workout of the Week #5.  We just filmed it today.

W.O.W. #5 - Thursday (5/24) - “Five, Four, Three, Two, One” 

Required Equipment: Heavy Dumbbells (water bottles, soup cans, etc)

“FIVE” - 5 Rounds, 5 Exercises, 5 Reps Each

1. 5 x Front Squat
2. 5 x Sumo Squat Press
3. 5 x Thruster
4. 5 x Dumbbell Snatch (modification: Sumo Deadlift High Pull)
5. 5 ea. x Overhead Lunge (modification: weights racked on shoulders or hanging at sides)

-rest only 10 seconds between rounds; long enough to mark that you’ve completed a round

“FOUR” - 4 Rounds, 4 Exercises, 4 Reps Each

1. 4 x Burpee
2. 4 x Weighted Burpee
3. 4 x Knee Step-Ups
4. 4 x Weighted Knee Step-Ups (rack weights on shoulders)

-rest only 10 seconds between rounds; long enough to mark that you’ve completed a round

“THREE” - 3 Rounds, 3 Exercises, 3 Reps Each

1. 3 x Man Maker (push-up to row R and L, hop in, stand, overhead press)
2. 3 x Atomic Man Maker (man maker + overhead lunge R and L)
3. 3 ea. direction x 2-Step Duck-Under Front Squat

-rest only 10 seconds between rounds; long enough to mark that you’ve completed a round

“TWO” - 2 Rounds, 2 Exercises, 2 Minutes Each

1. 2 min. x Knee Push-Ups
2. 2 min. x Side Suitcase Crunches (1 min. R side; 1 min. L side)

“ONE” - 1 Round, 1 Exercise, 100 Reps

1) 100 x Low Jacks (challenge: add Sumo Jump to each rep)

Erin's Y Group Exercise Instruction Schedule May/ June

FYI:

Below is my Y Group Exercise instruction schedule from now until the end of June.

Monday: 5:30-6:15pm Boot Camp at Ballantyne Corporate Park
Wednesday: 9:30am (Total Strength) at Siskey, 4:30pm (QuickFit) at Morrison, 5:30pm (Total Strength Extreme) at Morrison
Thursday: 9:15am (QuickFit) at Morrison

Upcoming Weekend Classes:
*5/28 8am-10a:30am Boot Camp at Morrison ($20)
*5/29 1pm (Athletic Conditioning) at Morrison; 2pm (Total Strength) at Morrison
*6/4 8am (Cardio Strength) at Siskey
*6/5 12:45pm (Cardio Strength) at Harris
*6/11 9am (Power Hour) at Harris
*6/12 1pm (Athletic Conditioning) at Morrison
*6/18 9am (Power Hour) at Harris
*6/26 2pm (Total Strength) at Morrison

The "Brown-Thumbed" Trainer Giving Gardening Fit Tips

http://www.wcnc.com/charlotte-today/Avoid-back-and-knee-pains-from-gardening-122450784.html

Click the link above to check out my latest fitness segment on the local morning show, "Charlotte Today."  A portion of the show's viewership is comprised of senior citizens, so my producer, Allison, suggested this topic (Garden Fit) to appeal to that audience.  This is definitely not my forte, as I absolutely CANNOT garden and am not used to toning my workouts down to this extent.  However, I had a ball researching the topic, making light of my lack of a green thumb on air, and challenging myself to work outside of my comfort zone.

I even managed to finagle an on-air shout-out to my four year old, Ellie.  Thanks for the accessory, dear Elle-Belle!

Weekend Warrior Bootcamp - Effective Drills to Use Yourself

Like I said in an earlier post, I (alongside three other instructors: Leonard Wheeler, Elizabeth Kapsiak, and Monica Patterson) taught a Weekend Warrior Bootcamp this past weekend at the Siskey Family YMCA.  I wanted to share some of the great, inventive, super effective, and even slightly torturous drills we used with our campers.  Many of them you can do on your own or with a workout partner at home or at the gym/ local track.

1) Hill Work: find a grassy steep hill in your neighborhood
*3 x Sprint up the hill/ run down
*3 x Run Backwards up the hill/ run down forward facing
*2 min. x Lunge up the hill/ run down
*2 min. x Inchworm up the hill (walk hands out to plank, hop feet in, repeat)/ run down
*2 min. x Bear Crawl Forward up the hill/ run down
*2 min. x Bear Crawl Backwards up the hill!!!!/ run down

*10 x Burpees at bottom of hill, then Frog Hop up the hill/ run down
*5 x Single Leg Burpees on R leg, then R Leg Frog Hop up the hill/ run down
*5 x Single Leg Burpees on L leg, then L Leg Frog Hop up the hill/ run down

*3 x Run Fwd. up hill, 1 x Run Bkwd. up hill:
     1) w/ medicine ball overhead
     2) w/ medicine ball held straight out in front
     3) w medicine ball in single-arm football hold (switch arms ea. time up hill)

2) Tabata Sprints:
*8 ROUNDS (4 min.): 20 sec. x Sprint, 10 sec. x Push-Ups
*8 ROUNDS (4min.): 20 sec. x Push-Ups, 10 sec. x Sprint

3) Partner Plank Sprints:
*Partner 1: Sprint 100 yards
*Partner 2: Hold Plank
-switch
-keep going for 6 minutes straight; alternating partners throughout (recovering in plank)

4) Exercise Pairing Count-Up/ Count-Down (by time):
Exercise A: Jack Burpee (add jumping jack legs to the push-up and jump finish portions of burpee)
Exercise B: Tuck Kneed Jump Squats (squat-jump into air w/ knees tucking into chest, land in squat)

A: 1min.
B: 10sec.
~10 sec. rest
A: 50 sec.
B: 20 sec.
~10 sec. rest
A: 40sec.
B: 30sec.
~10 sec. rest
A: 30sec.
B: 40sec.
~10 sec. rest
A: 20 sec.
B: 50sec.
~10 sec. rest
A: 10sec.
B: 1min.

5) Partner "Indian Run" with Medicine Ball:
*Complete 2 laps around a track (800m) with a partner (one in front of the other)
*Partner in front runs w/ medicine ball overhead
*Every 20 seconds or so, switch positions with partner: Partner in front overhead passes med ball to partner in back, partner in back sprints w/ med ball overhead to lead position, repeat

Thought For The Day

I and three other amazing instructors (Leonard Wheeler, Elizabeth Kapsiak, and Monica Patterson) taught the Weekend Warrior Bootcamp this weekend at the Siskey YMCA in Matthews, NC.  We had fantastic weather, a great crowd, and crazy challenging sessions both Saturday and Sunday.

The YMCA tradition is to have its group exercise instructors read an inspirational/ religious thought for the day after each class.  At the end of Saturday's session, I read the following quote to our Weekend Warriors:

"Whatever we truly love - our friends, our family, beauty and goodness - it is a gift of love from God.  Cherish these gifts.  Enjoy them.  Return trust with trust.  Return love with love...and stay loose. He loves you the way He made you."

                                                    -Louis I. Bannan, S.J. (1914-1998)

Father Lou Bannan, a Jesuit priest and long time teacher and counselor at Santa Clara University, was my great uncle.  

W.O.W. Update: Late on #3/ A Preview of #4

First of all, I must apologize for the fact that our video of W.O.W. (Workout of the Week) #3 has not yet posted at JBwebtv.com.  We are busy filming sessions in advance right now.  New episodes to air May 26th.

We filmed W.O.W. #4 yesterday morning outside in my back yard.  Enjoy the change of scene!  Below is a breakdown of that workout:

W.O.W. #4: "Total Toning the Tabata Way"

-When I say “total,” I truly mean total body workout...with tabata work, you will tone both the muscles of your body (your skeletal muscles), as well as your heart and lungs (your entire cardiorespiratory system)

-The key to this workout is the work-to-rest ratio; the limitation on rest allows for an ever-building increase in intensity as the workout progresses

TABATA = 8 x [20 sec. ON (work)/ 10 sec. OFF (rest)] = 4 min. total

W.O.W. #4:

Equipment: Jump Rope, Medicine Ball, Household Chair, Stop Watch

WARM-UP/ TABATA #1: Jump Rope Tabata (use any method: fake jump rope, regular jump rope, high-knee jump rope, double-unders, etc.)

~1 min. REST

TABATA #2: Med Ball Burpee OR Squat-Thrust-Jump (modification: w/o med ball)

~1 min. REST

TABATA #3: Med Ball Side Toss (alternating sides each round)

~1 min. REST

TABATA #4: Med Ball Slam Squat

~1 min. REST

TABATA #5: Single Leg Overhead Step-Ups

Total Workout Time: 24 min.

**Please comment and let me know how this one goes for you.  

**Click the Facebook "LIKE" button at JBwebtv.com.  The more "LIKES" we get, the bigger we grow, and the better we can service you all.

Get a Sneak Peek at W.O.W. #3 - Workout Breakdown

Colussus, roller coaster at Six Flags - Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA.

I just completed W.O.W (Workout of the Week) #3 yesterday morning at the Y, and I have to admit that I loved how it felt.  It was about 20 minutes in duration; I was a hot, sweaty mess 5 minutes into it; and I can honestly say that that 20 minutes of intense workout was all I needed workout-wise all day long.

Here's a sneak peek at the workout breakdown below, along with my times (how long it took me to complete each section).  Time yourself doing this workout once this week, then try it again once next week to see if your times improve at all.

The video of W.O.W. #3 with explanations of, modifications for, and visuals of each exercise should post at jbwebtv.com by Monday afternoon.

Beginners, even intermediate participants, please cut all repetition numbers in 1/2 before you even attempt this workout for the first time.  The numbers are crazy high in this workout, hence its name: "The Colossal Countdown."

Good luck!  Please let me know how you do and what you thought of this one.

~200 High-Knee Jump Rope (modification: cut reps in 1/2, High-Knee Run in place)

Exercise Pairing #1: (Erin's time to completion: 12 min., 37 sec.)

*100-80-60-40-20: Air Squats

*10 - 8 - 6 - 4  - 2: Man Makers (Row R, push-up, Row L, push-up, hop in, jump up)

~200 High-Knee Jump Rope (modification: cut # in 1/2, High-Knee Run in place)

Exercise Pairing #2: (Erin's time to completion: 7 min., 11 sec.)

*80-60-40-20: Lunge Jumps (modification: no jump, just in-place lunge)

*8 - 6 - 4  - 2: Supine Get-Ups (get up ANY way from flat on back to standing)

~200 High-Knee Jump Rope (modification: cut # in 1/2, High-Knee Run in place)

Exercise Pairing #3: (Erin's time to completion: 5 min., 19 sec.)

*60-40-20: S-A OH Press (alt. arms ea. 10 reps) (Challenge: + opp. Frnt. Leg Kick)

*6 - 4  - 2: Tuck Roll to 5 x Knee-Slap-Tuck (modification: sit to standing knee touches)

~200 High-Knee Jump Rope (modification: cut # in 1/2, High-Knee Run in place)