HIIT Training

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Jon

Huge In A Hurry (HIAH) has been a great program so far. I have only completed the “Get Ready” phase and am on my first week of “Get Lean”. Its been quite some time since I have felt this strong. While I don’t see any weight loss, I do see some muscle gain. However, the greatest gain is the mental aspect. I feel great and am motivated to keep working hard to improve. The lifting is great and its something I really enjoy. The hardest aspect of exercise for me is the cardio.I cannot motivate myself to do cardio. That is why Huge In A Hurry is a great program for me.

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a great way to do cardio, however it is fairly controversial in the fitness world. Some think that HIIT is just a fad. However, many experts believe that HIIT is the best way to leverage the thermogenic effect of buring calories. Which is the best way to get the six-pack abs! HIIT is the cardio method used for Huge In A Hurry.

HIAH HIIT is split into 15 seconds/45 seconds intervals. You do a activity all out for 15 seconds and then rest for 45 seconds. This is done after the lifting portion of workout. There are hundreds of exercises that you can do for HIIT. Below is a list of the ones that I have done that I enjoy:

  • Jump Rope
  • Sprint in place
  • Bodyweight Prisoner Squats
  • Squat Thrusts
  • Jumping Jacks

You can also do intervals on a treadmill, a stationary bike. You can use kettlebells etc. There are hundreds of exercises that can be done to achieve the results. The key, as always, is to do it!!

Please feel free to leave a comment and ad your favorite HIIT exercise!

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No Excuses

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Jon

We all need motivation to workout and to keep working out. I always look for quotes or something that helps motivate and keep me driven. This video is the only motivation I need. I watch it daily…

YouTube Preview Image
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Choosing a Workout Program

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Jon

It is very difficult, as an average joe, to find a workout out program that works and makes sense. The difficulty in choosing a program is that there is so much information out there. There are close to as many workout out programs as there are diets. How do we solve this problem? Here are a couple of ways to choose:

1) Pick one!

Just pick a program that you have heard of and do it. This doesn’t always work because of time commitments, current fitness level etc.

There are a few programs that I would like to recommend, however, these programs are on the extreme side of programs (this site is called Extreme Workout!):

Turbulence Training, CrossFit, Huge In A Hurry, P09X

I have dabbled in all of these and strongly feel that are all amazing workouts.

2) Lifestlye

Many programs require working out daily. If you can’t workout daily due to other responsibilities, a daily workout program won’t work for you. You will never succeed on that program because you won’t be able to stick to it.

3) Functionality

There are several workouts out there that focus on a particular function or result. For example, CrossFit was developed to be “real life”. The workouts in CrossFit develop muscles that you use in real life. You wouldn’t use a CrossFit regiment if you are trying to compete as a bodybuilder. If you are trying to accomplish something particular, do some research as I would bet that there is a program designed for that.

4) Ask around

If you see someone at the gym who is fit or is built like a tank, talk to them. Ask them what program they do or ask them to shed some light  on how you can improve your workout. People at the gym like talking about themselves and more times than not, they are friendly and willing to help you achieve your goals.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter what workout program you are doing as long as you are working out and being active.  Walking every night, jogging three times a week, weight training twice a week…whatever…just be active! But, like anything else, to succeed you need to stick to it! If you don’t stick to a regiment, it won’t matter what the name of the program is or who designed it.

Lastly, do some research. The top programs quickly rise to the top amongst all the wannabe’s when you spend a few minutes researching.

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You Have More In The Tank

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Jon

I have learned something very valuable recently. I have learned that no matter how much my muscles burn, or how tired I am, I can always do more. We are trained to stop when our muscles tell our brain that its over. But the reality is that our brain controls everything.

See, the problem is that too many people sell themselves short. They stop when their body tells them to instead pushing through. When the muscle sends a signal to the brain that its burning and in pain, the brain has the ability to tell the muscle to keep working.

Pain is an emotion, not a feeling. Therefore, pain is a mental pitfall and can be push aside. As soon as the first emotion of pain hits you, tell yourself to welcome it in and that it really doesn’t hurt. If you can push aside the emotion of pain for a few seconds, the emotion with subside and you can continue on.

There is always more in the tank, because the tank is your brain, not your body!

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Change It Up

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Jon

There are times when every workout regiment hits a wall. When you are doing the same thing you were to make all of those improvements but aren’t seeing any results. Yep…its the classic plateau. Everyone on any program will eventually hit this, its just a part of the package. When you sign up for it, they should notify you of it. So, what is a guy to do when that wall is hit? Easy……change it up!

For this very reason, I am beginning a new workout program: “Huge In A Hurry”. This program is created by Chad Waterbury of T-nation.com and Men’s Health fame. This program has been created with a ton of science behind it, which really all makes sense. The program is well-defined and guided; not a “do this type of exercise” program. This program is gym-based, not home-based like P90X. So, unless you have an awesome hme gym, you will probably need to drag your butt to the gym! This program also has a meal/nutrition plan, although its not as detailed as the P90X plan. I might continue on the P90X eating program

I am beginning this program on Monday 9/14/09 and I look forward to updating this site as I progress. I am going into this knowing that I will hit a wall and will be going back to P90X. I plan to go back and forth as necessary.

Click to be taken to Amazon.com

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Getting Back Up When You Fall Down

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Jon

We all fail at some point. If you haven’t failed, then you haven’t tried. You’ve heard all of the quotes about dusting yourself off and getting back at it, but the truth is, those quotes are true! Unless you workout for a living, there is no way you can stick to any workout program for an extended period of time. Life gets in the way. When you get sidetracked, or stop working out for whatever reason, the important thing is to get back at it. No matter how long you have been off the saddle, it always feels good to get back on. Life got in my way and I haven’t been able to work out for a few weeks. However, I have made up my mind to get back at it and start a new cycle of P90X. All it takes is the motivation and courage to start again.

Sometimes its not life that gets us offtrack, sometimes its doubters and people projecting their problems. I have heard, more than once, that “P90X is a scam” or “how can you get in shape from a infomercial?”. The reality is, P90X works and those people have issues of their own. This reminds me of a quote from Franklink D. Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Basically, don’t let those watching from the sideline have an impact on what you are trying to do….they aren’t even in the arena!

Keep at it, keep pressing play and keep ignoring the critics!

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P90X Community

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Jon

P90X is a funny thing. Its a legitimate workout regiment, but there is a following that is almost cult like. P90X is either known by people who are on the program, people who only know it as an infomercial, or people who know nothing about it. 

The people who know it only by the infomercial will almost never give it a try or listen as you try to explain it becase “how can an infomercial ever be for real?” I don’t waste my time with these people, becasue they probably don’t work out to begin with and aren’t open to changing their bad habits.

The people who know nothing about it are the people that I love to talk to. They are usually stuck in the same routine of going to the gym and working out with no purpose. They are usually openminded and looking for a regiment that works. They usually will listen.

The people that have worked out with P90X understand its power. They get it, they really understand what its about. They understand that not only does it change their lives from a fitness perspective, but it can change their lives from a life perspective. 

BeachBody, the creators of P90X, have created an entire industry around P90X. Hundreds of people are employeed via the coaching opportunity, while others have become personal trainers inspired by amazing transformation from P90X. When you enter the world of P90X, you are given every support tool possible to be successful. 

You can sign up to have a BeachBody coach assigned to you, for free. You also have access to the forums that have thousands of people on hand to give you support and answer any questions you have. There are numerous videos on YouTube of people giving their weekly updates. 

What I am trying to get at is that the only way you can fail at P90X is within yourself. If you give to it, it will give back tenfold. You are given all the tools and support that you will ever need. Its out there for you to take………..go get it!

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P90X On The Go

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Jon

Do you want to take your daily workout on the go? At first, I was happy working out and doing my daily P90X routine at home. After a while however, it became hard to workout at home as I wasn’t motivated after I got home and sat on the couch! Or there were chores around the house that I needed to tend to. I felt much better going to the gym to get my workout in. I started by watching every video and writing down the workouts. This is cumbersome! I also would leave the paper at the gym from time to time so I had to rewatch the video and write everything down again.

In comes my iPod!

I took my P90X DVD’s and ripped them to my computer using Handbrake. I then put the ripped video on my iPod and now I have Tony Horton in the gym with me. I love doing my P90X workouts at the gym!

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P90X Nutrition – Guidelines

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Jon

Get plenty of lean protein with every meal
Lean sources include fish, poultry, beans and vegetarian alternatives. Protein should be the building block of every meal. It gives you the stamina you need to “bring it” to your P90X workout and make it to the next meal.

Eat five to eight fresh fruits and vegetables every day
The P90X philosophy is: Don’t ever hold yourself back from enjoying all the fresh fruits and veggies you want!

Enjoy whole-grain carbs
Ditch white breads, bagels, doughnuts, cookies and the like. Tear into a hunk of all-natural whole-grain bread instead with gusto! You don’t have to eat carbs at every meal, but you should have at least one serving of carbs every day. That’s because your brain relies solely on carbs for its energy source. Sure, you’ll be trim if you don’t eat any carbs, but you’ll come across as a ditz! Your protein serving should always be larger than your carb serving to prevent your blood sugar from spiking, then plummeting. The last thing you want is to feel weak and shaky during your P90X workout!

Enjoy good fats
Good fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated; some sources include avocados, olive oil, fish and nuts. The P90X fitness system recommends fish as the most lean source of protein and as the best source of omega 3 oils. Wild Alaskan salmon is best. Saturated and trans fats are bad; some sources include meat, dairy products and hydrogenated oils.

Drink at least six to ten 8oz glasses of water every day.
Water flushes away excess fat. That’s a good thing, because you’re going to crave tons of water after your P90X Cardio X, Plyometrics and Kenpo X workouts!

Avoid these items at all costs:
fast food burgers and fries; hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. When you follow the P90X fitness mindset, you don’t even regard them as food. Think of them as poisonous artery-clogging and liver-taxing toxins.

Never, ever skip meals or starve yourself.
This will only slow down your metabolism anyway. You are going to need plenty of energy for your P90X workouts! Never leave the table hungry, and never leave the table miserably stuffed. Eat until you are full, but not overloaded.

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Ingredients of Soda

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Jon

Carbonated water

Ingredient-wise, this is cola’s get-out-of-jail-free card. Carbonated water—water injected with carbon dioxide gas—has received a bad rap over the years, but current studies suggest there’s little wrong with it. The idea that the phosphorus (the “fizz”) in bubbly water drains calcium from bones was shown to be untrue in a 2001 study by the Creighton University Osteoporosis Research Center in Nebraska. So if you give up the soda and stick to the soda water, you’ll be in good shape.

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

For the uninitiated, HFCS is corn syrup that has gone through enzymatic processing to increase its fructose level. It’s then mixed with un-enzymatic processed corn syrup to make a combo of fructose and glucose that can be used as a sweetener. Due to the massive amount of corn our country produces, HFCS is cheaper than white cane sugar and, therefore, the sweetener of choice for just about every American junk food you can think of.

There have been all kinds of theories and studies over the years claiming that HFCS is worse for you than other sugars. Conversely, the Corn Refiners Association has gone to great lengths to dispute this information, but it’s a losing battle. They have yet to comment on the latest studies, one published in Environmental Health and another from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, both showing that HFCS can contain mercury.

Whomever you believe, this stuff just isn’t good for you. One 12-ounce can (and who drinks just a can anymore?) contains 39 grams of simple carbohydrates, all from HFCS. With no fat, no protein, and no fiber, it’s 140 calories of blood-sugar-spiking sweetness. It’s like eating 9 teaspoons of table sugar. So no matter what you call it, what vegetable it’s derived from, or how you process it, it’s bad for you.

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