GoBus’n, Gmail Pinging, Burpess & JaHELLy Legs!!

So it was Sunday evening and I was in Galway –  I was getting the almighty GoBus to Dublin, gotta love GoBus – no stopping along the way, Wi-Fi – well it doesn’t always work but hey it helps, no nonsense, no B.S. – approach for getting you from point A to point B. So what does this have to do with your fitness goals? Bear with me I’m getting to that.

Just before I got on the bus and sat down and had some a bite (packed lunch on a bus – gotta love it  – BBq’d chicken breast with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos and drizzled with some olive oil) I turned on my notification settings on my phone for my Gmail. Just after I did I got a “ping” from my phone – it was a mail from a good mate of mine Mike from Galway. It was such a good one I asked him if I could share it with ye so here it is…

In the mail Mike asked two very good questions. You see I recently devised a personalised training program tailored specific to Mike’s Fitness goals and I made sure that if he had any questions he could contact me……. And he did!

 

His first question was on some extra conditioning workouts he could do in between the resistance training program he’ll be doing during the week. I have him on a three day resistance training program and I’d mentioned to him that if he wanted I would give him some great burst conditioning routines that he could use in between the workouts that would give him that extra boost to his overall plan.

 

His second question was on cardiovascular work and in particular what machines and duration I would recommend he use when doing some extra cardio. Two great questions – so I thought I’d share with you what I replied back to Mike.

Right on the conditioning routines – there great way to burn the extra calories in between workout days…. Here’s one of my favourites – I call it the “Box-Jumping Burpee JaHELLy Legs”

 

Box-Jumping Burpee JaHELLy Legs

This is a great 20 minute conditioning routine that can be customised depending on your current fitness level – and even better you can use it as a barometer of your progress. Here’s how it goes…

Right so you need a box (at least a foot high) – or a bench, even a sturdy chair can be used if you want to try this workout out at home. So as mentioned it’s a 20 minute workout so on every odd minute you do Box-Jumps and on every even minute ya do a Burpees. Now the number of Box-Jumps and Burpees ya do depends on your fitness level but if say starting out you could try and aim for say 6 – on minute 1 you would do 6 Box-Jumps then rest the remainder of the minute, then on minute 2 you would do 6 Burpees and rest the remainder of the minute then repeat this process for the 20 minutes. If you can do more than 6 that’s great but make sure you give yourself between 15-20 secs rest for each minute. It may only be 20 minutes but trust me this workout is a toughie but you’ll feel brilliant after it!

Box-Jumps – Squat down then jump onto the box or bench then immediately jump off.

Burpees -Start in a standing position, drop into a squat with your hands on the ground, extend your feet back into the plank position – return to the squat position and return to the standing position.

Try it out – you’ll love it and hate it at the same time but I must warn ya you may have what I like to call JaHELLy legs after .

 

Now the second question of the mail was on what kind of cardio machines and duration I would recommend. This is a great question but the answer actually isn’t that simple – there is no best cardio machine out there – they all have their benefits and drawbacks. For instance if you are looking to do some cardio but have a history of joint pain – you probably should stick to low impact machines like the elliptical machine, stair climber or exercise bike. Personally when incorporating cardio training with a resistance training program I like to focus on these low impact cardio machines as it’s not as taxing on the joints and muscles – don’t get me wrong treadmills and outdoor running (there’s some great running routes in Galway) are great for cardio too but I find it’s best to compliment your resistance training program rather than compromise it.

On duration well that depends on what you’re looking to achieve – if you’re looking to get the best bang for your buck you should stick with an interval circuit in the region of 15 to 25 minutes where you would work at a moderate to high level for 30 secs then at a low level for 60 secs – then repeat this for the allotted time. On the other hand if you’re looking to do some more steady state type cardio your workout length could be increased  to anywhere from 45 – 60 mins but here you would have your exertion level pretty constant throughout. It really depends on your fitness goals. Your training program and workouts should be tailored specifically to you – if it’s not your holding back your progress –if you have any questions or want some help with your fitness goals either leave comment or contact me via the contact tab at the top and we can get your started on your fitness journey to success.

Yeah so that was the email I got – it wasn’t the post I intended to do -I was actually gonna go on a bit of a rant but that can wait until next time….

Better go – Sons of Anarchy episode on – best show at the moment!!

Think Success then go after it…

John.