How Long Should You Rest Between Sets Of Exercise

This all depends on your goals and what you're trying to accomplish whether it's preparing for competition or overall fitness. Resting can also mean a lot of things; are you sitting down? Are you walking around after a set? Are you active at a lower intensity? Or are you just going non stop?

In my opinion, you should rest as long as needed, not as long or short as someone tells you to. I've been through the 30 seconds rest periods, 2 min., 5 min., 15 sec. and so on and so forth and I have come to the conclusion that if you need to catch your breath then do so and take as much time as you need. When it comes to conditioning, the objective is to keep going and if you're in need of a rest or finished say a circuit, do a lower intensity exercise that is active and keeps you at a solid level of cardio. If you've been hitting it hard with the weights or you have done some rough HIIT than I suggest you rest as long as needed to.

Rest periods for the most part written out by various trainers and fitness enthusiasts make mere suggestions and some are very questionable especially those that have you doing some heavy training but your rest time is way short. I get it, you want them to keep their heart rates at a high level but suggesting a rest period when someone isn't in the shape for that workout and telling them if they're weak or not for how long they rest is ridiculous. I have been through some of the most intense training around and some that are considered beginner, I barely made it and i'm in good shape.

This is where it can be debatable for people and depending where the training is from and who teaches it can be overwhelming. When you're following someone at their pace, at times you won't be able to keep up, doesn't mean you're not in shape, just means you're not meant to. When it comes to programs like DDP Yoga, the objective is to keep going but he does remind you if you need to back off a bit then do so because if you're going harder than you need to, it can cause injury.

You want to be able to recover at an optimum level for you and how do you know if you're resting enough? Is your form at a solid level when you move onto the next exercise or set or is it sloppy? Are you able to go at the pace you've progressed or are you going slower? How are your energy levels? These are the things many don't think about and the reason why that is it's because they were told to only do this and that. The key to learning this is being able to be intuitive and understanding your awareness and the ability to go at a level needed to progress to a greater stage or efficiently in another exercise or set.

I firmly believe in resting until I'm ready for the next set. I've been experimenting with skipping rope or the airope lately where if I get too tired during certain rounds of the animal dice game or I used it as rest between each exercise from the recent Cable workout, I skipped enough to let things go down a bit but at the same time i'm staying active. I rest only enough to where my breathing is good and the lactic acid has died down a bit for me to go hard again. So far this has been working extremely well for me and I have stayed on active rest sometimes shorter to catch my breath and sometimes a little longer to be at a good pace so when I go back, i'm efficient.

Resting is just another word for recovery and if you're able to go through an entire workout without needing recovery time, that's awesome and impressive but if you need to catch your breath and need to move around a bit and recover than do so, don't be afraid to recover. Recovery is just as important as the training itself and if it's not on a balanced level (which can vary an individual) than you need to make it so. Have a foundational ratio and you'll be reaching levels of fitness that are just awesome.

Super Conditioning For Women

A strong woman both inside and out make up the very best of what this world has the potential to be. It's more common nowadays for women to have a strong and powerful independent nature and be able to handle things many men cannot fathom. Forget physical strength for a second and let's look how conditioning plays a major role in both life and in sports for women; in my opinion, women have just as much of potential or even more so often to be in better condition than most men for a specific purpose.

The mere hardcore fact that women pull off more strength and endurance for going through childbirth should give you the not so subtle hint that conditioning for training isn't just possible, it'll be a greater capacity to progress at the best level. Girls are beyond capable to being in the best shape they can possibly be in and more often than not can have greater strength pound for pound than the average man. Men do have a greater capacity for developing hardcore strength due to our testosterone levels compared to women but yet women can be so freakishly strong that would make a man run in fear. 

Think of a woman that can swing a 100+ lbs Kettlebell and weigh no more than 110 lbs. That's just insane, most men cannot match that if they were to weigh 200 lbs. or more and swing with the same weight. Women can possess incredible physical strength but they also have the enormous capabilities to be highly conditioned and can go for periods of time that is just incredible. One of the best ways to develop great conditioning is to be able to handle your bodyweight in various positions where it does take some great strength to do it. Eddie Baran's Body Sculpting For Women can do just that and turn them into powerful and strong women that can go and be able to pull off some amazing feats. 

Women can get seriously conditioned using nothing more than their bodyweight. If you decide you want to get on the weights wagon then I suggest you check some amazing women such as the Scottish Tankerbell Kirsten Tulloch, the 5ft badass of Ant Strong Melody Shoenfeld & one of the most athletic women on the planet today and the South African Queen of Kettlebells Vanessa Raymond. Go beyond just building great muscle (without great bulk) and take on fun and exciting training ideals that not inspire women to be very strong but incredibly skilled at whatever they want to accomplish.

One of the cool things I love to do for others is to give a bit more than they pay for because let's face it when you invest in something especially in health and fitness you want the best bang for your buck. That's why when women order products at my Advocare Store, you won't just be investing in top quality supplementation with healthy tips on food but from me personally you will also get bonus workouts you can do anywhere, anytime that are based on powerful women in Comic Books & Mythology; Heroines, Villains, Goddesses & others that break stereotypes and inspire girls from all walks of life to be in the best shape possible using simplistic methods that have stood the test of time. Most men cannot do some of these workouts and as a man myself, I had trouble keeping up with a few of them, that's how tough they can be but despite the challenge they're fun and don't take too long to get you going. Be able to train less than 30-45 minutes a day with workouts that do more in that time than it takes to get the gym, train and leave. Wear whatever you wish, listen to your favorite tunes and get into that amazonian mindset of kicking ass and conquering a workout that could take down some of the best athletes on the planet. This isn't crossfit or extremely hardcore, they're very simple yet highly effective to be fit on a long-term basis. Adjust your own levels according to your current state of fitness and build up to high levels of Super Conditioning. 

HAPPY LABOR DAY: TIP ON HOW TO KEEP MOVING IN YOUR WORKOUTS

Hope everyone is having a fun Labor Day and making the most of it. This weekend has been a partial rollercoaster for me mentally but I never give up on what I love and that's training. Got a couple of new movies on Blu-Ray such as Baywatch & Batman And Harley Quinn and experimented with something I never tried before and wanted to give you a little tip...

During some recent playouts, I tested out how I can keep moving during rest periods or if I start to feel a little tired. It was during my Animal Dice Game and in between rounds I would go to the Airope and do some skipping to keep myself in that cardio zone and boy did it pay off. Just doing enough rest with this to catch my breath but still moving and I was cruising through that game really good. Once I started feeling tired, I repeated the skipping.

Now I know what you're thinking (In that Magnum P.I type tone), you might be asking "Why don't you just use a regular jump rope or just sit down and/or walk around if you're tired?" Well my good man (or woman), I could use a jump rope which I do have that you can get here but lately, its been very smoky due to forest fires from the state east of us (Montana) and breathing that in can be hazardous and it isn't easy to jump rope with ceilings. Also yes I could just walk around which I do from time to time but sitting down is out of the question because in order to stay in top condition in training, you never stop moving.

I like the airope because for one it gives me a chance to work on coordination with my right hand and I can skip anywhere, anytime.  It works the calves like crazy and you get a hell of a lot of cardio out of it and that's what you need to help increase chances of fat loss and weight loss. This is only needed in between sets of any exercise you do or in between rounds if you do circuit training. This keeps the blood flowing and keeps your heart rate at a solid level while "resting". If you prefer a jump rope, awesome use it. Jump ropes are a classic conditioning tool that has been around for generations. The airope is just another tool in the arsenal.

You want to be in as good of shape as possible regardless of what you're training for. Using a simple tool to keep up cardio while going for strength, agility, conditioning and/or endurance can take you into the far reaches of fitness. Imagine what it feels like to never tire, make your friends go "damn does this guy ever stop" and be able to have so much energy you'll be burning calories like no tomorrow. Rope skipping can be a great starting point or it can be a part of your bag of goodies to be in the very best shape possible. Make it work for you.

Sometimes 20 Minutes Is All It Takes

While making the best of the animal dice game, I have learned that despite being able to do a full at one time, its not the ideal amount of time to get in the best shape possible. You can play it as long as long as you wish and if you could go longer than an hour that's awesome but I have found that my best for staying as strong in the end as the beginning is around 20 min.

People like to go to extremes seeing how long they can really go and regardless of form or consequences they shoot beyond what the body is capable of. The important aspect of true fitness is not to push beyond the limits for a long-term basis. Many won't like this but it is the truth. I don't want to be hovering over like I just got my ass handed to me like McGregor in the 10th round, I want to be able to walk out knowing that I could still go but have done enough to say "ok that's all for today." That doesn't mean I'm not putting in the work to get in shape, very much so and because animal moves are often so intense that training hard for too long of a period of time can be more diminishing than result producing.

The way the game is set up is different every single time because one day you might find easier exercises to move around in and not go all explosive but another day you can put your legs through the ringer and only last maybe 10 min. before you're spanked. After going through hundreds of rounds, thousands of steps/reps and many many animal moves I can expertly say some days you'll feel like you can take on the world but don't expect it to be permanent because sooner or later, you'll have that playout that is so intense it'll be short as hell but you'll still be in awesome shape.

There's a massive difference between running on a treadmill for 20 min. than it is to do a full animal playout; the intensity are pure opposites because while running at a fixed speed and a specific motion, you'll be putting your body through a whole other realm of crazy as you crawl, jump, hop, balance, hold and coordinate in very awkward positions and using muscles you don't normally realize are being worked. I've ran and walked on treadmills in the past and they were boring as hell but when I do the same amount of time doing animal moves, I'm moving through planes of motion, having to adjust every single step to stay balanced, be able to stabilize my core in weird positions and i'm building much more than cardio; i'm building strength and power in those positions. You can't get real strength from a treadmill, its physically impossible.

The most intense training is more likely to gain a success in your fitness endeavor than a low intensity style of fitness. Greater intensity builds muscle quicker and you're burning calories far greater than at low intensity due to the nature of muscles being used and the ideal movement it provides. Sometimes, 20 min is all it takes.  

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Maca Powder: Also called Peruvian Ginseng has been a popular herbal supplement in the West for years. The two things Maca is known for in the West is for its ability to promote healthy sexual function and as a nutritional powerhouse. Maca has been traditionally used in the following areas: increase endurance/stamina, help build muscle, adaptogenic effects, promote healthy bone density, memory stabilization, and neuroprotective effects. Great in FOOD and for cooking.

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End of Summer sale 8/29/17-9/4/2017*No Rainchecks







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