Make Your Body Your Machine : workout

Alcohol is Bad for Your Workout!

Nathan McGee — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:19:00 GMT

I know this probably falls under the "duh" category, but it goes beyond the dangers of combining TRX Incline Presses with keg stands. Alcohol has a profound effect on your body, more than just making you feel a little tipsy (or all out sloshed drunk). Now I'm not advocating an all out beer strike, but if you are going for optimal physical conditioning or trying to trim that waistline, it is good to know the effect one drink has so you can determine if you are willing to make that sacrifice.

In this article, Joe Kita of Core Performance highlights 6 effects even moderate consumption of alcohol (one to two 12 ounce beers a day) can cause.

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Sometimes we want to believe that something is good for us even when we know it’s really not. Take alcohol, for instance. All the press about how a daily nip can prevent heart disease has convinced many people that it’s beneficial overall. But as I’m learning during this month’s One Small Change experiment in which I’ve significantly reduced my alcohol intake, there’s a lot more to consider than just heart health. Athletes need to weigh the effects of alcohol on fitness and performance. And here, I’m sorry to say, the evidence is almost entirely negative.

Danielle LaFata, M.A., R.D., C.S.S.D., a performance nutritionist with Athletes’ Performance in Phoenix, Arizona, recently prepared a report listing some ways in which alcohol can thwart training and competition. Keep in mind as you read this that she’s not talking about alcoholics. Just one or two 12-ounce beers, 5 to 10 ounces of wine or 1 to 2 shots of hard liquor (mixed drinks) nightly can cause these effects, as can regularly binging on weekends. Here’s the bar menu:

1. Interferes with deep, restorative REM sleep.

While alcohol can make you sleepy initially, it should never be used as a sedative because it disrupts your sleep cycles, especially REM. This stage is particularly important to athletes because it’s when you consolidate and commit to long-term memory what you learned during the day. So if you’ve taken a golf lesson, for instance, getting good REM sleep will help ensure that your mind and muscles assimilate the new technique.

2. Wrings the body of water and nutrients.

You already know that alcohol is a potent diuretic and that without adequate fluid your system is like an engine without oil. But what you may not realize is that in all that pee are lots of water-soluble vitamins and minerals that your muscles need for balance and performance. For athletes, the dehydrating effects of alcohol carry a double punch.

3. Disrupts the muscle-building process.

Reaching for a beer to reward yourself after a hard workout is one of the dumbest things you can do if your goal is to add lean mass. Alcohol is a bully in the body. It pushes aside protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients, which muscles need for recovery and growth, as it demands to be metabolized first. It always takes precedence. This deprives your post-exercise body of what it needs most and, thereby, sabotages improvement.

4. Spikes the production of cortisol.

This is the body’s stress hormone. Think of it as the alarm that triggers a gazillion little firemen to take off through your system. The longer these guys are on the scene, the more havoc they wreak, namely impairing thinking, raising blood pressure, decreasing bone density and muscle tissue, and increasing abdominal fat.

5. Depresses the immune system.

Alcohol and, subsequently, cortisol also handcuffs our body’s T-cells, which are activated when germs, a virus or another invader enters the body. This means you’re not only more likely to get sick and lose training time if you drink, but injuries will also take longer to heal.

6. Impairs reaction time long after consumption.

It takes roughly one hour for each drink to be metabolized and leave your system. But since you’re also becoming dehydrated, losing nutrients, interfering with muscle-protein synthesis, disrupting sleep and doing everything else we mentioned, your body will be hung over long after the buzz fades and the cobwebs in your head clear. One study out of New Zealand detected negative performance effects up to 60 hours post-binge.

So what does all this mean? Have we quaffed our last Coors? As LaFata points out, it really comes down to how serious you are about seeing results from your training. If you have a big race coming up, then it’s probably smart to avoid drinking 48 hours prior. If your goal is to lose weight, pack on muscle and finally put an end to people offering you part-time Santa jobs, then it’s probably wise to stop rewarding yourself with hi-balls post-exercise. Instead, rehydrate and refuel first. Then, later that night, if you want to toast your progress, do so in moderation, if at all.

Joe Kita is a noted writer, editor, motivational speaker and teacher. He authors the blog "One Small Change" for CorePerformance.com.

Train Like a Fighter: Brandon Vera Workout

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:28:00 GMT

Mixed Martial Arts is the epitome of basic, raw competition. One man against one man. No ball, no net, just strength and skill against strength and skill. MMA fighters require discipline of both the mind and body if they want to be competitive. This Saturday, November 14, 2009, top MMA fighters Brandon Vera and Randy Couture will be fighting in UFC 105 held in, Manchester, England.

Vera has been using the TRX in his training for this upcoming fight and Randy Hetrick was able to work with him to create TRX exercises specific for people training for MMA. This routine is specifically formulated to provide the strength, agility, and movement needed to quickly gain the advantage over the opponent. We are excited to see the outcome of UFC 105. Good luck Brandon!

Brandon Vera TRX prep for UFC 105 against Randy Couture.

View official Fitness Anywhere Press Release.

TRX & Ropes Circuit Workout

FitnessAnywhere — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:37:00 GMT

Robert dos Remedios or "Coach Dos" shares a couple of great TRX circuit workouts on his blog, Obervations from a Strength Coach.

Circuit #1:

TRX wheelbarrel walks - 2 times across 3 aerobic steps + 5 plyo push-ups
"Monkeying around" - pull-up and hang climbing variations two times across the bars
TRX push complex - Push-up, T's, and superman's 5 times each
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose

Circuit #2:

TRX feet elevated rows (with hinging hips) - 10 times
Hang leg raises - 10 reps of any variation of leg raise
TRX plank position pike + saw - 10 reps
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose.

Check out his post, TRX, Ropes & Bodyweight Circuit, to view video examples of each exercise.

Video Exercise: KILLER Suspended Scorpion

Fitness Anywhere — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 GMT

If you think this sounds deadly... IT IS! This will totally KILL your abs! Fraser demonstrates how versatile the TRX is for all levels by demonstrating this challenging, core specific (opposed to the fact that all TRX exercises work your core), advanced exercise. Not for the faint of heart! Let's here it, who gave this a shot?

Fraser's TRX Suspended Scorpion Exercise

Video Exercise: Fight Day TRX Training!

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:11:00 GMT

In honor of Roger Huerta's UFC fight lastnight, we are bringing back a couple of videos from the TRX Video Archive to help all of those aspiring fighters out there (and of course anyone who wants to just build the strength and body of a fighter will benefit from these exercises as well).

First up, to get you into the fighting spirit we bring back burpee to punch. Get in the fighting spirit by popping up and throw some punches.

Next is a powerful, complete workout to build strength in your arms and legs for fluid movements and powerful hits. Fraser brings the TRX workout to the next level by incorporating sandbag exercises with the TRX.

For high quality sandbags take a look at Sandbag Fitness Systems.

Roger Huerta, you fought a great fight!

TRX Sponsors UFC Fighter Roger Huerta

Fitness Anywhere — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:31:00 GMT

UFC Fighter Roger Huerta has been a longtime user and advocate of the TRX. We are pleased to announce that he will be sporting the TRX logo during his bout with Gray Maynard in the UFC 19 fight in Oklahoma City. The fight will be televised on Spike TV, Wednesday, September 16, 2009. Check local listing for time. Good luck Roger!

Roger sent this video for TRX fans to see how he incorporates it into his workout routine.

New: TRX Multisport Strength Workout Download

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:33:00 GMT

Time-crunched athletes often overlook strength training, resulting in a less-than-stellar performance.

Jessi Stensland— Professional Triathlete —leads a TRX workout of her favorite upper and lower body moves to build power into any sport.

Join her in this easy-to-follow, upper and lower body workout that will:

- strengthen your core
- improve joint mobility
- help prevent injury
- and increase performance and power

AND you can use this downloadable workout anywhere you take your TRX!

Preview the Workout »

Ask the Trainer with Jonathan Ross

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:08:00 GMT

Q: "How do I know that I'm doing the exercises correctly? I'm following the DVD workout, but I'm not seeing the results I expected."

A: If you're doing the exercises correctly and not seeing results there are two possible reasons. One is that your nutrition isn't supporting your goals and that's too big to address here. The other is that your intensity might be insufficient to give your body a reason to change.

When it comes to exercise, the human body is actually quite simple. It's driven by one rule: Stimulus and Response.

Provide a stimulus to the muscles greater than what your body is used to and you get the response of getting stronger/leaner/more fit. If the stimulus isn't there, your body's response is "been there, done that" and it rolls over and goes back to sleep through the workout.

Some questions to ask yourself are below. Your answers to them will likely provide the answers you need to get the results from your workouts.

When you are finished your workout, do you feel like you had a workout?

At the end of a workout, does your body let you know it had a challenge? Do you feel a faint whisper of "Whoa, what was that we just did?" from your body? If all you noticed was that your muscles were moving and then the workout was over, your workout probably is not asking your body for any changes.

Solution: Make the workout harder. Decrease rest between sets, add more sets, add a rep or two, increase the resistance, decrease the stability, or increase the time of your work interval on each exercise. If your workout time is already maxed out then ignore any of the above choices that add significant time to your workout. But change something to make the workout harder.

How do you determine when it's time to stop an exercise?

Do you train for the feeling or for the number? Do you stop just because you completed the target number of reps or the work interval time? Or do you stop because you are tired? Ideally, your muscles get tired in the target rep range or time interval.

Solution: Follow my training mantra: "Train for the feeling, not the number." Add a few reps to each exercise or add 5-10 seconds to your work interval. Before stopping any exercise, ask yourself "Am I really tired enough that I should be stopping now?" If not, do a bit more!

Stop an exercise when you need to stop because you're either too fatigued to continue or your form is completely shot. A minor drop in technique isn't a crisis since in life we often have to move in less than ideal conditions and without perfect form.

Jonathan Ross
TRX Master Trainer
www.AionFitness.com

Bio: Jonathan Ross is the 2006 ACE Personal Trainer of the Year, Exercise TV's "Best Personal Trainer," Discovery Health National Body Challenge Fitness Expert and one of Men's Journal Magazin's Top 100 Personal Trainers in America. He is owner of Aion Fitness, co-author of Family Fit Plan, and Personal Training Director at Sport Fit Total Fitness Club. His unique personal experiences help him create exercise strategies that deliver big results for his clients.

Free TRX workout e-book!

Nathan McGee — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:40:00 GMT

If you are looking for Standup Paddle Surf training, well Jon Ham wrote the book... litterally. His standup paddle fitness book is available to download for FREE! That's right... FOR FREE!

And you don't need to love standup paddle surfing to benefit from this e-book. In Ham's list of why you should get this book he includes...

You love using the TRX,...and are looking for new ways to use it.

These are my favorite reasons he gives why you shouldn't get this book?

You don't believe in exercise
You already own the book
You are too Lazy to exercise

You can read more about standup paddle surf training at fitnesstrainingbyjon.com and sign up to download his e-book!

Lunch Crunch Workout

Fitness Anywhere — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:42:00 GMT

In today's busy schedule, every moment counts. We bring back this lunch crunch workout, you can get in your exercise and still have time to eat your [healthy] lunch!

Complete 3-5 circuits with 10-15 reps for each set for the following exercises. Be sure to move quickly from one exercise to the next to keep your heart rate up and get the most out of this workout.

Back Extension
Swimmer's Pull
Single Leg Chest Press
Suspended Pendulum
Suspended Crunch