Baby 5 Mile Conditioning Workout
All ready to work you out Dad!
What you will need:
Heart Rate Monitor
Running Stroller
16 month old that doesn’t like to be in her car seat and stroller very long!
Sunday, September, 16th 2012
What a beautiful day Sunday was and I got to start it off with a workout with my fiery redheaded 16 month old daughter Madison.
So, my wife worked a later than scheduled bartending shift for a wedding last night and did not get home until after 2am. Needless to say she was wiped out at 5:30am when Madison woke up. But like a trooper she got up and fed her morning breakfast and got her things together. Due to my busy work schedule I rarely get to spend one-on-one quality time with Madison. So any chance to get her out with me to work out and see others working out I try to take full advantage of.
Now that it is getting cooler out I feel a lot better taking her out for extended periods of time as she doesn’t deal well with the heat and humidity. So I decided to take her to the Ridley Creek State Park to run the 5 mile loop. Well, I got that and so much more! Before I get into the details you should know this girl never sits still! She is always moving and so curious about the world.
We had to park about a half mile away from the main 5 mile loop gate. If you are from the area you know that the loop starts with a nice incline that builds up to the huge mile and a half hill. Started off with a nice jog up and got moving on the major hill. That is where Madison got squirmy. About a quarter of the way up she wanted out. Not down, just out. So now my jog turned into a lunge workout with 25lbs. weight with 1 hand on the stroller and one under Madison. I had to keep switching because all of you mom and dad’s know about that burn. Thighs are burning and biceps and shoulders are getting a nice isometric endurance workout. My HR was at 85% of max and still only little more than half way up the hill. Finally we make it to the top of the hill with the heart rate at 90% of max. At this point I had to squat down and put her back in. Back on the jog now as that the loop begins to flatten out a bit. So I get about mile and half in and she wants out again. I had to lean back to the squat down. She is walking along fine until my little trainer decides that it’s time to start the leg training portion of the workout. She wants to help push the stroller. So I tilt it back on 2 wheels, she grabs the handles and starts to push. For about 100 yards at a time over a mile and half I am in quarter squat walk to help balance and push the stroller. WOW what a burn. Thank God I have such a fun and cute distraction. Back in the stroller, squat and biceps and on the run. With a mile and half left we pull over to the water fountain another squat, biceps and hold. Madison gets a drink and I really need a drink and repeat that 3 times. Back in the stroller another squat and biceps hold. Then back to running again.
So knowing my daughter and the fact she will not want to sit in her car seat so back out of her stroll except this time she doesn’t want to walk anymore so I am walking down the hill switching arms side to side. Biceps and shoulders burning all the way down the hill and back to the car.
What a workout. We both need a good lunch, bath and nap. Cannot wait until round two next Sunday. I will post all the new workouts my new trainer (Madison) surprises me with and would love to hear what other moms and dads out there get out of their baby workouts. As always, please share and visit our website, friend us on facebook or follow us on twitter.
Yummy in a Glass
Here is another juice idea…I enjoy this one because it is a great mix of fruits and veggies. Not spinach, not broccoli but still has some veggies in there. I am sure this sounds redundant, but I always make a large amount for myself and drink it on my way in for my first am clients. Great way to start the day and although I cannot attest to it being better than coffee as an am pick me up (because I have never started my day that way) I find it makes me feel great and helps my energy level. And if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, imagine how good it is for you to have two apples, strawberries, a serving of squash, add a bunch of grapes and a few more servings of carrots. This juice tastes very good and is good for you so give it a try and if you change it up a bit by substituting or adding something please let me know on facebook or twitter. Happy Juicing!
Yummy in a Glass
2 large green apple or 3 small
6 strawberries
½ yellow squash
2 large handful red grapes
2 carrots
Here is a juice idea as promised
So this is one of my favorites and I tried to be as accurate with quantity as possible, but quite honestly fruits and veggies do not come in the same size with each purchase. I have a habit of buying large cucumbers and I use very large handfuls (heaping handfuls) of ingredients. Very honestly, this is a really delicious veggie drink full of very essential fruits and vegetables, that even our 12 month old daughter loves. One last tip when making your veggie juice, I alternate between the juicy and dry ingredients to keep it flowing nicely. Also, I make sure to get all the seeds out of the apples. The seeds have been linked to arsenic and taking an extra second to cut them out is well worth it for me. Enjoy 🙂
Green Gush
1 cucumber
2 celery stalks
1 large green apple or 2 small
1-2 large handful green grapes
2 large handfuls spinach
Time to hit the weights..woman included
If you aren’t lifting weights you minus well just skip the gym all together.
Ok, that is actually a little harsher then is completely true, but in all seriousness, I cannot stress enough just how integral strength training is for your physical health. As much fun as it is to run endlessly on the hamster wheel (I mean treadmill…ha ha) there are so many benefits to stepping away from the cardio machines and over to the weights section in your gym.
While you may think that you can lose the weight with loads of cardio, which on face value I agree with you can make sense. Unfortunately that is just not the case. By incorporating strength training you will ideally build lean muscle mass which at rest (means you do not actually have to do any physical activity in order to encourage it) will burn more calories. Therefore you can lose weight throughout the day, like while enjoying a movie on the couch, simply because you focus attention within your workout on strength training.
So if you are looking to reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories when you aren’t even trying then strength training is for you. I am not suggesting you strap on the weight belt and lifting gloves and power lift for an afternoon with the men in the corner at the gym, but by introducing slow and controlled strength activities into your workout routine you will work smarter and not harder to meet your fitness goals.
For a one on one introduction into proper strength training techniques please follow the link to Elite Training LLC and learn how our trainer can help you.
Part 2: Why we don’t achieve our New Years Resolutions: Beginning Lead
Who is invested in you?
It is a rare person or athlete that can go out everyday and motivate themselves to true athletic or fitness success. There is only one athlete that I can think of that came close to being able to do it all by himself (and he didn’t even do it all be himself). That is wrestling legend Dan Gable. He was undefeated in both High School and College wrestling…except for his last match, he did lose his last match of his college career. However, he then he went onto win the 1972 Olympics without one of his 7 opponents even scoring a point on him. Not a single point was scored by some of the worlds best! Everything that you read about Gable was how motivated he was. He ran alone, weight trained alone and had a limited amount of steady committed wrestling partners. That being said, you should know that his High School and College coaches are in the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Neither of these coaches are in the Hall of Fame just because of Dan. Clearly, they are in there because of their total body of work over many years leading and coaching different types of athletes and personalities. My point being that even the most motivated athlete on the Earth had great coaching and trainers to lead him.
One of the reasons that so many people fail to attain their fitness goals is that they do not have anyone leading, coaching or training them. You have witnessed this your self at the gym. How many people have you seen doing the same work out every time they come to gym and there are not any noticeable changes to their body? Or the guy you see that is a ball of fire for the 1st month on the treadmill and keeps stacking up the plates on the bar for a month then never to be seen again? Now think back and remember your HS or college days when you had that coach that you really liked and they really motivated you. What kind of shape where you in then? What did you do for him or her? Maybe you just had a friend that was really into going to the gym so you went with him and you just followed his LEAD! Having proper leadership is invaluable to your fitness or athletic success.
Being a busy adult with a life and responsibilities it is more important than ever to use your time wisely. You can’t afford to waste your time, energy or money. So seek out a good coach or trainer to make the most of your time and money. Join a masters swim team, hire a personal trainer, join a running club or hire a triathlon coach. This will help you immensely on many different levels. Assuming you did your homework and have good references on the coach or trainer and you think that you have a well qualified person. Go for it. Once you pay your money, now you are locked into a set schedule that you will be committed to and therefore make it a routine. Now you just show up ready to workout as the trainer has your progressive plan ready to go. Ultimately, you are not only committed to your self but now you have to be there for someone else.
So, if you want to stick with and achieve those New Years Resolutions find a good coach or trainer.
New approach: Functional Training and Football
Functional Training is a training system that we have used for a long time at Elite Training with our athletes. We have used it with our clients/athletes that we train with great results! Training should mirror competition to make valuable improvements in your speed, strength and conditioning in your sport. The NFL is now just starting to use this system vs. the old idea of “grip and rip it!” or “Bigger, Fast, Stronger”. The idea of JUST the bench press, squat and deadlift are falling to the way side for kettlebells, bands, flexibility and cross training as the core of your training plans in the off season. Please read the article that is linked to the picture above and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.
Why we don’t achieve our New Years Resolutions Pt. 1
Sitting here looking at all of the FB statuses and it seems like everyone is getting started on their New Year Resolutions early and talking about what they will be changing in their lives for the up coming year. All I can think about is how many will stay committed? How many will achieve their goals? Then I think about why they don’t stick with their goals and” feel the exhailreation of victory!” Here is what I have come up with #1 they don’t have clearly stated goals, #2 No one is leading (or invested in them), #3 they don’t get in the right environment and #4 no one joins them.
In part 1 here I am going to talk about clearly stated goals and goal setting.
So, the other day I got to wrestling practice early and I decided to see where the individual wrestlers’ heads were and where they are as a team. Here is what I did as the kids came up from locker room and the athletes were getting ready, taping up their wrists, putting on their shoes and applying kensheild. I had them line up at the door and told them my goals for practice (I never want to be that coach that says do as I say not as I do). So I believe that if I am going to ask for their goals, I should state mine. So my goals for this workout were to drill their top 3 take downs, top 3 bottom moves, top 3 top moves, review the cradle ride series and be done by 5:15pm as it was a day before a match. The only way that you could get into practice was to tell me your goal for that days practice. It had to be clearly stated, achievable and something that could be quantifiable by the end of practice.(they didn’t know that part. I wanted to use this as a chance to teach the kids how to goal set) Now it was their turn…here is what I got a lot of, “to get better”, “to be the best that I can be”, ‘to win” (to win what?), “not to lose” (again not to lose what?) and get in better shape. These are pretty opened ended statements and because there is no way to tell if their goal was reached by the end of practice… so those guys were sent to the back of the line to try again. At the same time the good goals I got were, “to get 5 double leg take downs on John Smith”, “to have a 2 pound practice”,” to win my wrestle off over Dan Gable”, “I want to put Tom Brands on his back at least once today.”
The reason that the 2nd round of goals were acceptable and the wrestlers were allowed in the room, on time for practice is because they had clearly stated goals that we as coaches could use to motivate and help the kids achieve for that workout. Let me tell you something, we normally have an intense practice room but this was a totally different beast. The kids had purpose and focus. They were on a mission. They had something to achieve by the time we said practice was over. BTW we now try to do this at least once a week now.
Here are some tips for goal setting:
Clearly define your goals: Instead of saying I am going to do a 5k in 2012. (pretty opened ended)
Try this: I am going to run in the Main Street 5k on July 31st 2012 and I will finish in a time of 29 minutes or less. Pay your fee right away. Coughing up some of your hard earned dollars will help to keep you on track too.
Now you have stated a long term goal. Don’t under estimate truly buying into your goal. You really have to believe in it and be committed. It will be a long road and you will need to have faith when times get tough. Also, each time you go out to run, lift, condition or stretch you will be consumed by not only the 5k its self but time of 29 minutes or less. You will have a mission. This will drive you when you are tired, can’t get out of bed or miss a training due to life being crazy.
Furthermore, have at least 1 goal before you go out for a training session (short term goals or steps toward your long term goal). These little goals will keep you motivated along the way to your over all goal. Don’t get discourage if you fail to achieve your little goals. Life (and training) are about the journey. Enjoy the highs and lows and look at this way….you have a built in goal for tomorrow. You don’t have to stress about thinking up a new goal. You have to keep working toward that little goal. You have to get the one that got away yesterday.
Each goal needs to be very clearly defined with an identifiable result.
The next blog will be on being led, coached or trained and its importance.
When is it time to find a Personal Trainer?
Have you been going back and forth to the gym for several months without any real ability to commit to a schedule? Just so you know, it isn’t really a schedule if is not consistent for more than a month.
Do you spend more time during your workout looking around at what everyone else is wearing and doing and not truly concentrating on your workout?
Do you leave your workout not only thinking you could have done more, but wishing you had put more effort into your workout?
Can you remember the last time you left your workout actually feeling like you just had a great workout? Do you remember what that great burn even feels like?
My guess is that you have been on a bit of a break from the gym and your workout completely with all the busy-ness of the holidays. So are you going to go back to your bad habits of 2011 in 2012 or is this the year you get back to taking care of yourself in the New Year but in a serious way. A commitment without excuses….you know the excuses. ‘At least I am working out, I could be home but I am here so that counts’. That type of workout (a term which I use loosely) probably does more harm than good. I say more harm because that type of justification caries over into behaviors like eating and lounging. You have the extra cookie, candy, appetizer, meal out with the second, or third, glass of wine. This is where it does more harm than good. What is going on during your visit to the gym is not actually a workout but rather takes just slightly more effort than a vigorous shopping trip. What ends up happening is you are eating and drinking additional calories because you have convinced yourself your gym trips are burning off the indulgences, but in all actuality your workout is doing little more than allowing you to maintain your current weight. Add in the extras from the holidays and your pants will be tight by New Year’s Eve. If any of this is describing you and your ‘workout’ habits or justifications….then a trainer is for you.
New Contributor
I am happy to announce that Head Elite Training Trainer Anthony Barbera will have 2 weekly posts here! Anthony has been with Elite Training for a year and will be finishing up his last semester at West Chester University this Fall. He has already completed his degree in Nutrition and has worked with some of our current clients on designing meal plans and squashing food and supplement myths!
Each Monday he will offer a new nutrition tip. Furthermore, on Fridays he will update you on some of the Personal, team and athlete trainings that he is involved in during the week. So expect a lot of advice, pics and videos of trainings from Anthony.
We will update when ever we have some news or something to share (Sorry to say we have a lot to say! haha) but we are looking to come up with a more regular topic schedule.
Topic schedule so far:
Monday: Nutrition (Anthony)
Tuesday: Rugby Camp updates (Every other Tuesday Wayne)
Wednesday: Wayne’s Training updates
Thursday: Looking for ideas
Friday: Anthony’s Training updates
Saturday: Looking for ideas
Sunday: Looking for ideas
If you have any topics that you would like advice on please email me at Wayne@EliteTrainingSports.com.
“Big Bonez” Running Club
Have you ever wanted to become a runner? Did you ever think, I would run more if I had someone to run with that was more my size?
Would you run more if you had someone else make a training plan, had support and was around other liked minded people?
I think the answer is YES!
I am thinking about starting a running group for “Big Boned “ people! The Athena (woman over 160lbs.)
and Clydesdale (men over 200lbs.) running group for bigger men and woman whether you are over weight, taller or just have more muscle. Why can’t there be a club devoted to you?
It would be free of charge. I would make a complete training plan that would start slow and build to a 5k race that we could do as a team or group for a charity. After that I would repeat the process to a new goal as the group grows.
To start we would meet once a week, at various locations (also thinking early Sat or Sun mornings at a HS track to start) as a group. In the beginning have you do the bulk of your training on your own and then use the group run as a way to maintain motivation and gauge your training training progress. As things start to build and interest grows as well we can add other days that suit the group.
If this is not for you please pass this onto someone you think would fit what I am looking for. I would love some feedback and determine interest to move forward.
Please email at Wayne@EliteTrainingSports.com
Elite Training daily blog is here!
We want to take this opportunity to introduce our new blog! With all that is going on with Elite Training (Bryn Mawr) and Elite Training North (Fishtown), our clients, classes and programs we decided to start a blog with weekly and sometimes daily updates! We are looking for suggestions/ topics of information that you want to read about! We plan on having a lot of pictures, video and more to keep you coming back for more! So if you have any fitness or sports performance related topics in mind, please let us know.
Elite Training LLC. 