Inspired Journey Fitness

The worst push ups ever!

Before the middle schools in the meet took the track, the high school team was still completing their practice. There was a group of 20 or so male athletes on the infield grass. They were going through a series of conditioning drills which included lunges, squats, reverse crunches, planks, and more. Their form was terrible and they really looked like they were just going through the motions, thinking about how fast they could get through the exercises and not focusing on quality and getting the benefit from the time they spent. Especially when the coach turned his back.

One exercise really caught my attention though. The worst push ups EVER! Bodies were flopping around, middles sagging, butts up in the air. One participant was pretty tall and from a distance looked like he had a bit of muscle on his frame and he probably had the poorest form of all. His arms were moving and his chest was coming up, but the rest of his body was staying on the ground. His waist and legs never left the ground the whole time. Imagine Gumby doing a push up, how’s that for a visual?

These are high school athletes?

A couple of lessons here:

1. Focus on quality. Don’t just blast through the workout to say you’re done. Think about your goal and how the workout is getting you a step closer. If your goal is to get it over with, blowing through the workout as quick as possible so you can get back to your cell phone and catch that all-important text message, then follow the high schoolers routine. If you really want to get stronger, do it right. It doesn’t take much longer. Everything else is just a waste of time.

2. Learn do exercise properly. Maybe they didn’t know they were doing it all wrong. Maybe nobody ever worked with them to show them how to get the most from the exercise. Maybe you’ve never had that help either. If you’re not sure if you’re getting the most from your workout program, ask for help.

If you want to know the right way to do a push up, here are a couple of examples that anyone can do!

There’s a book that sweeping the business market lately and it’s called StrengthsFinder. The book is based on the theory that most people don’t have the opportunity to use their strengths at work each day. This is caused by many things, including not really knowing what you’re strongest at and a job that has you doing something you’re not good at doing. For example, outstanding salespeople are frequently recruited into sales management roles. The thought here is that if they know how to sell, they must know how to manage salespeople. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

The premise behind Strengths Finder is to determine your strengths and learn how to use them to your benefit and the benefit of your entire organization. As a team you each can then rely on one another to do what you’re strongest at and as a whole you’re better off. Great idea…in the right environment.

While this concept can be applied in business and in life, one area that this doesn’t translate to perfectly is your fitness. If you find the few things that you do best and do those things almost exclusively, you’re forgetting the rest of your body. What good is it if you can do bicep curls like nobody’s business, but you can’t make it up a flight of stairs without stopping for a breather?

When you’re dealing with your fitness, your body can’t rely on someone else to be effective at what you’re weakest at doing. (Imagine this one at home: “Hey honey, I’ll stay down here and do bicep curls all day and if I need something from upstairs you can go get it for me”). Your body has to work as a complete system and each muscle relies on the others to reach the goal. Rarely do you move only one joint of the body, so why should you focus all your training on single joint movements?

Keep developing your strengths, but pay particular attention to what you’re weak at doing and work on that too. Your body will thank you!

John Demos the TRX Suspension Trainer

Why?

Because your body works as a system, not in isolation. There’s a place for isolation exercises like bicep curls and calf raises, but when it comes down to it, are you trying to develop ripped calves or are you trying to develop an explosive jump. Most people work out because they want to do something with their bodies, like out-jump, out-run, or out-last the competition. If you’re trying to develop your body to work effectively as a system, functional training is the answer. Even if your goal isn’t athletic performance and you just want to move more effectively, functional training is important.

My hands down favorite tool for functional training is the TRX Suspension Trainer. You can use it for literaly hundreds of different exercises and get an amazing workout using just your own bodyweight. With every exercise, you’re training your core to stabilize your body as well as working the prime mover muscles to perform the exercise. As an added bonus, you can get that workout done in a shorter time because you don’t have to wander all over the gym switching weight plates, machines, etc.

I use it with grandmothers and I use it with athletes. Just a few small adjustments with your body position and each both the grandmother and the athlete get an equally effective workout.

Click here to get your TRX today!

Here’s a video with just a few examples of exercises you can do with the TRX Suspension Trainer.

Click this video to see the TRX Suspension Trainer in action!

My friend Andy Harrington has been training for the past nine months at the Lifestyles Fitness Center for the Ace Hardware Tour de Kids Miracles bike ride this October. This annual event raises money to help raise money for children’s hospitals around the US.

He’s made great progress with his strength and endurance and in addition to working out at the gym, has been cycling regularly to build his endurance. I have enjoyed the opportunity to have helped train Andy as he prepares for his journey. In addition to muscular endurance strength, he also needs financial support to make the trip happen.

Please take a few minutes to learn more about the cause and consider donating to the Children’s Miracle Network to help Andy make the trip. Please visit the Ace Tour de Kids Miracles website to learn more about Andy’s goal and this fantastic ride.

Research shows that your health and fitness can have a direct effect on your personal and business success.

The Tri-County Business Referral Group is sponsoring a free seminar titled “Healthy Body, Full Pockets” where you’ll learn tips that you can put into action right away to improve your success. The seminar is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, at 7PM at the Bolingbrook Recreation and Aquatic Center (200 S. Lindsey Lane).

It’s free, it’s sure to be entertaining, and you’re sure to learn a few great ideas. (Best of all, I’ll be the presenter!)

I hope to see you there!

I just added nine new fitness videos to You Tube. You can find my videos on the left side of this page.

Many of you have told me that it’s been very helpful seeing the exercises being performed. I’m glad it’s helping and thanks for watching!

If you’re on Twitter, you can now follow me.

A few weeks ago, our Biggest Loser Team did a workout using resistance bands. The exercises we did were:

Lunges
Squats
Military press
Upright rows
Lateral raises
Tricep kickbacks
Front raises
Bicep curls
Rows (with door or pole)
Cable rotations (with door or pole)

If you need a refresher on how to perform these exercises, check out these videos