Home Gyms Make Fitness Part of Your Healthy Lifestyle

A while back while on Vacation with my Family, I was able to drag my Dad out for a workout at the hotel gym.  After working out each day with me during that vacation, he decided to go home and set up a gym in his garage and drop his gym membership.  He started out by going to see my buddies at http://www.specialtyfitness.com/ where they installed some rubber flooring in his new home gym.  The other pieces of the home gym are a TRX Suspension Trainer using the Xmount in a beam to anchor it, an Indo Board, Dumbbells, and Finally a TRUE Elliptical Machine.  

In this interview I did with my Father, he explains how much he is enjoying working out at home and How after 2.5 years or so his home gym will be paid for with the money he was spending for his gym membership.  In addition, since the gym is in his home, he doesn’t need to drive anywhere and thus he is much more consistent at getting his workouts done.  He doesn’t need to waste time driving to the gym in order to get a workout in, therefore there is one more barrier to getting in the gym that is removed.  

Even though he is in his early 60’s he is feeling more energetic, sharper, and fitter than he has in a long time.  This Exercise routine he has begins early in the morning as he watches business news while exercising on the True Elliptical machine and it prepares him for his busy days as a professor and consultant.  This is all part of his new Healthy, Active Lifestyle that I have been preaching to him about for years.  Happy to see it taking hold and becoming part of his daily routine.  Oh yeah, you can do it too!

Killer Core Exercise - Pushup to 1 Arm Row

Today I have a Killer Core Exercise you can use during your next workout.  It is a Pushup with a 1 arm Row, so let’s break it down.
You are going to want to start with some light dumbbells, but not too light.... or too heavy.  Use the weights as parallettes, and get into pushup position with your feet a bit wider than you normally would.  Perform a pushup over the dumbbells and tighten your core because this is where it gets tough.  Shift your weight over your right shoulder as you perform a 1 arm row with your left arm.  This exercise really places tons of rotational strain on your spine, so you need to fight hard to stabilize your body.  Do another pushup and now go to the other side.  Make sure you keep your butt down, don’t stick in up in the air.  As you get better at this you can do it with your feet closer together which will make your body more unstable, or use a heavier dumbbell.  This exercise is a killer on not just the core, but it also integrates nearly every muscle in your body as opposed to isolating a single area.  Which is a good think for athletic performance and making your muscles work together for improved total body movement.  

I like to get my clients doing 3 to 4 sets of 10 reps on each arm.  What is your favorite core training piece of equipment?  Please leave a comment below because I want to know.  Check us out on Facebook and Google +!  Now it is your turn to go kill it!

Why Focusing Mirror Muscles is Destroying Your Fitness and Physique - A Guest Blog By Brett Warren

I spend a lot of time thinking about fitness. And, a lot of time getting fit - working out in the gym and looking around at the others doing the same. Recently, I've started noticing that many of the guys spend the majority of their workout time on the bench press, doing push-ups or lifting dumbbells. It turns out that a lot of them are all about building up the mirror muscles - the ones most obvious when you look at yourself in the mirror.

When I've asked them why they're so focused on the front of their body, their first answer is that they want to look good, especially to the new people they're meeting. They claim that those all-important first impressions are based on face-first contact. That might make sense if you're into having a broad, strapping chest and large biceps, but not if you want a healthy body.

After all, a healthy body is one that is well-tuned and equally balanced. Strong muscles not only maintain strength, but also influence posture and allow our bodies to have a full range of motion. This means that all of our muscles need to be well-developed, not just the ones on one side of the body.

The pecs, abs, anterior deltoids, biceps and triceps - the mirror muscles - are counterbalanced by other muscles attaching to the back of the body - the lats, trapezius, posterior deltoids, rhomboids, etc. If you strengthen only those on the front of your body, they get shorter and tighter. Meanwhile, the muscles on the back get longer and weaker, causing your shoulders to round forward. You can start to slouch, bend forward and even develop a hunchback, if you don't see what's happening soon enough. Not only that, but back and hip pain may result.

So, to offset the bench pressing, you'll need to also work on those upper back muscles. In doing so, you'll improve your posture, pull your shoulders down and back, and even tone your belly. In fact, as the muscles in your upper and mid-back get stronger, they will stabilize your shoulder joints and help you lift even heavier weights.

For the lower back, as well as the rest of the body, strengthening the core is key. When the trunk, pelvis and torso - areas at the core of the body - are strong, the muscles of the entire body get powered. The core muscles to work on are not only your abdominals, but also the lower back muscles and hip flexors. The muscles of the back help stabilize the spine, allow it to bend in many directions, and keep your torso upright. And the hip muscles need to be stretched to prevent back pain, common if one spends lots of time sitting. Strong abs improve your balance, distributing upper body weight evenly to avoiding putting excess pressure on the lower back.

Of course, the muscles in our lower bodies also need to be evenly worked. The tendency of people who build mirror muscles only is to concentrate on squats to strengthen the quads and glutes. But that leaves out the hamstrings. In fact, the majority of hamstring injuries result from imbalances caused by favoring quad exercises over hamstring stretches. So, for a stable core, the muscles on the back of the leg, running from the knee to the butt, need to be stretched. Exercises that flex the knees and extend the hips, as well as squats and lunges, help strengthen the hamstrings.

Now that I've done more research on how to create a body that will stand tall, avoid muscle injuries, and appear strong and healthy all over, I'm convinced that many of us need to broaden our exercise routines. We need to consider all of our muscle groups - the anterior, posterior, internal and external - and give each of them a workout.

And, we can expand our repertoires of lifting weights and using machines in the gym by engaging in other activities which also build strength and improve posture and balance. In fact, how about some yoga or martial arts to offset our obsession with mirror muscles?

Brett Warren is a fitness and weightlifting enthusiast from Boston, Massachusetts. He is passionate about nutraceutical science and loves his job developing workout supplements for Force Factor. Brett's extensive background in biochemical engineering means he's one scientist you don't want to mess with. When Brett is not crushing it in the gym or working at Force Factor, you can find him spending time outdoors with his family.

Jon's 5 Favorite Balance Training Exercises - Fitness On The Run Show S1E4

Jon’s 5 favorite balance training exercises, using a Ball, TRX, and Indo Board

1. Indo flow 1 leg squat with TRX
2. TRX/Indo atomic pushup
3. Trx suspended lunge
4. Indo squats with body bar
5. Kneeling on the ball

A few points about Balance and Balance Training:

Balance gets worse with age resulting in increased incidents of falls

Balance training can improve athletic performance

You can “learn” to balance better with practice, just as your brain learns how to do math

Training on unstable surfaces can increase muscle activation without increasing loads on the joints – not designed for increased power, but great for core stability, muscle balance, and good posture.

Cari Ham TRX GWTM Get With The Movement

To survive is to exist. It is the continuation of life. For me, survival is not enough. I want to enjoy and participate in every aspect of life. I want to face challenges with courage and celebrate life's accomplishments. I want to wake up every day and continue to enjoy all the wonderful things this world has to offer. But to do this, I need my body to function at its highest level. My movement is not to just survive but to THRIVE! What are you moving towards?