Having Fun In The Great Outdoors

From Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning, me, the wife and her bestie went for a nice camping trip up here in Idaho. Haven't camped in 3 years so it was nice to get away from civilization for a couple days. The bestie's boyfriend came up the next morning to join us.

Sitting by the fire, shooting the breeze, taking a dip in the creek and chopping some wood to help get the fire going was just one of those things you can't help but love. Got in some Isometrics and deep breathing down by the creek and just letting nature sink in. Just felt happy.

Had a little trouble getting the tent up the first night but managed and got it going, didn't have the best sleep but hey, it's the woods, you never know what's lurking amongst the trees lol. Because of my hammer training, it gave me some good solid strength to chop some fine wood. Me and Shel Mac took turns chopping various parts of wood for our girls and plus it gave me something to do since it's one of those natural workouts that is very rewarding.

Second night was just a blast, doing practically nothing but laughing, eating and being entertained by our friend's dog which is part Wolf. Creek was pretty damn cold but I didn't care, it felt invigorating and peaceful. With the deep breathing or rhythmic breathing, I was able to stay in that beautiful clear water for a good period of time. Getting away from the city can be a major reset and let yourself relax and enjoy kick ass company.

One of the best moments was our last morning and while having breakfast, a baby moose was running down the creek and turned toward our camp, was only 30 yards away if that from our spot and headed up the road. The third time in my life I've seen moose and you don't know how big they truly are until you see them practically in close proximities, even the babies are big bastards.

Have fun with the people you love and make the most out of a trip that can bring you great joy and happiness. Nature is your gym; chop some wood, carry it, swim in the river/creek/lake, pick up big rocks, climb a tree, do wall sits on a tree, walk in unknown terrain and most of all, have a blast.

Short But Intense Sandbell Workout

Steady and long workouts may not give you the most bang for your buck. Intense exercise is more of a burner than anything else because when you go through intense training, it aids in calorie burning during and after a workout. HIT does this very well and so does HIIT. Some people believe that very intense yet long workouts benefit more but not everyone has time to do something very long. A few minutes is more than enough if you do it right.

Yesterday after doing an Isometric workout for my core, I was in the mood to really get some cardio in but didn't want to do it very long so I went into the dungeon, set a timer for 10 minutes, grabbed my 20 lb Sandbell and had at it doing Slams and Presses for AMRAP. Lungs were firing and felt amazing. This kind of workout is a full body conditioner to a great degree because i'm also doing this with little to no rest between the Superset. Here's what I was working very hard....

Lung Capacity

Grip Strength & Agility

Shoulders

Legs

Core

Anaerobic Conditioning

Upper & Lower Back

Chest

& Power

Short & Intense workouts either as a finisher or on their own burn calories like crazy especially if you keep going without stopping. The Sandbell is an incredible tool and has dozens upon dozens of exercises to work with and forces to work your grip hard. It's not like a dumbbell or kettlebell where you grip the same size handle, you actually have to regrip it every time you use it so imagine the finger strength being developed by this. It strengthens the tendons and ligaments and when you slam it, you're strengthening your lung capacity.

This is just an idea of what you can do if you're short on time but want something effective. Here's the complete workout....

10 Slams

20 Presses (10 per arm)

AMARAP In 10 minutes with little to no rest.

What Kind Of Routine Should You Do For Isometrics???

Although there are limitless exercises in Isometrics and the many ways you can apply them, what should you do if you were to do a routine? The truth is, they can be added to any routine or can be stand alone if you wish. If you're into sports, you can use Isometrics to aid in the development of your skill set whether it's through pitching, hitting, throwing, jumping, shooting, taking down an opponent, slapping on a submission hold or whatever.

You can create a routine where you do one body part a day that takes no more than a few minutes and go on about your day. You can do multiple body parts and round out the whole body within a 3-4 day period. Do one upper body workout one day and do the lower body the next, picking out the various parts of the body you want to work on. It's really a matter of what your goals are.

In the 60's during the Isometric craze of the cold war, Olympic Weightlifters in the U.S used Isometrics to increase the strength not only in their lifts but aiding in their speed and precision. Men like Steve Justa & Alexander Zass used Isometrics to increase their health and strength through sheer practice of various angles and developed their bodies while also increasing the strength of their bones, tendons & ligaments. Henry Wittenberg who won Olympic Gold Medals in Freestyle Wrestling used Isometrics to dominate opponents. The Great Gama used Isometrics to overthrow every opponent he faced and went undefeated in 5000 matches over the course of his career.

The routine that best suits you will be the one that works. I understand that sounds very vague and you want the "Secret Sauce" that will make a routine make you Superman or Wonder Woman but we are all different and we all different sets of goals and we must work according to our level of fitness and getting the most out of what we want to achieve. I've had periods where I did full body Isometrics almost daily or go through a routine where I hit the whole body in a 3 day period and repeated the cycle. Isometrics can do wonders if you act accordingly and learn the proper techniques and breathing patterns that will create results and achieving your goals.

For more info on Isometric Training, check out 7 Seconds To A Perfect Body and learn the key ingredients to create your successful routine. 

Isometrics: A Quick Method For The Time Restricted Folks

We may only have 24 hours in a day but within that time, we get caught up in the "responsible acts" of life such as; getting to work, making a living, picking up kids, paying bills and doing adult stuff that never seems to end. When people want to work out, they feel that what they hear about how much time it takes to get results and what to do to get those results, it can be confusing and full of overwhelming anxiety that one of two things will happen; they'll either quit early or don't do at all because there's never enough time.

There's so much info out there that it can be daunting and hard to pick the right info for you to use to get the time in and what you're seeking. Some people can get to a gym even with tough ways to work around it and it works for them but it isn't for everybody. That's why I turn to Isometrics because it's quick and has great benefits of getting the most out of the time YOU need to get done. Isometrics are exercises where you don't move but you're exerting a lot of force. 

A great version of Isometrics is just simply flexing your muscles to a degree where you don't need more than a few seconds to really feel it. Flex your arms, your legs, your chest, your calves or whatever and hold it for no more than 12 seconds. The rule of thumb here is to not hold your breath as you flex. Instead, make an "sss" or "fff" sound as you exhale. This can help with blood pressure.

Another way to get a good Isometric workout in is taking a few minutes and do Self Resistance type training where you resist against yourself (muscle against muscle) and do various parts of the body like working your biceps, resist trying to lift your shoulders up, push your hands together for the chest ect. You can use a table, a park bench, your chair, pressing into the floor, holding a horse stance, these are all great ways to use isometrics. You can do a quick workout in about 5 minutes. If you do them right, you can also get a good cardio workout in it too. Think about it, using isometrics for cardio and never needing to force yourself to do 30 minutes on the treadmill or have to drive to the gym.

Some of my Isometric workouts last no more than 20 minutes, others, 5 is more than enough. I can give you some great courses to check out so you'll never have an excuse to not get something in. Make the timing count, don't let it steer you away. Get fit without moving whatsoever and do so anywhere from the park to a hotel room, your living room, backyard, at the beach, sitting in a chair or wherever you wish. 

Here are a few courses to check out that help you find cool ways to do Isometrics:

Super Isometrics for Maximum Strength and Muscle Gain

Isometrics By Henry Wittenberg

Developing The Isometric Mind : All 7 Volumes 

Isometric Power Revolution: Mastering the Secrets of Lifelong Strength, Health, and Youthful Vitality

Within minutes, you can get some awesome training in and never have to worry about getting the right time in. Make it work for you and take care of yourself. Strengthen your body anywhere and get the most out of it without being so restricted. 

Step Ups: An Alternative To Running

Some people love to run or jog, it can be meditative, often times a way to escape and get into a better state of mind, but it does have consequences. A good run is one thing and doing so for a few miles is more than enough for most people but if you push it too long/hard it can put a damper on your joints and can cause knee problems. 

I was never much of a runner and with the way my shins and ankles are, running is not a great option or exercise. I have known people who do a lot of running and one of them i'm related to and she runs like a madwoman. Running can be good to a degree in the sense where you're not putting your joint health at risk and tearing ligaments from overstraining or putting too much stress. 

Many use running as a form of cardio which can be good but can only take you so far and if you do exclusively, you're missing out on incredible other forms of exercise that has a safer alternative to your cardio/muscular conditioning. I've been doing Step-Ups lately and the few times I've done them, it's given me a hell of a cardio workout that does better for me than running on a treadmill or a track. I got the idea from learning more about Bob Backlund, the famous world champion wrestler from the late 70's to the early 80's.

I had written before about Backlund doing Step-Ups & The Ab Wheel as a means for developing awesome conditioning. He was an avid runner in his day to get great cardio for keeping up in the ring but once he found out about the Harvard Step Test, he was off and running with it (no pun intended). Once he transitioned to this exercise, his cardio shot through the roof and was considered as one of the best conditioned athletes in his prime. 

It's a simple exercise but a very effective one that builds the legs to last in the long haul and has a safer application on the knee joints and ankles. One workout I've been doing lately is Backlund's workout but alternating back and forth between the wheel and the step ups. 15 min non-stop is a hell of a workout and is a great start to see where your condition is at. How long I'll keep at it that remains to be seen but when I get the urge, I do what I can. 

How high of a step do you need for it to be effective? I don't think you'll need one where your step goes higher than a couple inches past your navel point. This is because you don't want to overextend or put too much flexion on the hip joint because although the legs are strongest in the body, your joints need to be strong too and exercised with safety. So a good 10-14 inches is more than enough but depending on your height and the health of your joints go accordingly. 

How many reps do you need to do to get an effective workout? This can vary from person to person depending on timing, the amount your body can go with and what the goal is. With my superset of step ups and the wheel, I would do 20 step-ups (10 per leg) at a time and do as many rounds as possible without stopping in the time I put up. In the 15 minutes, I would do close to 10 rounds which totals up to a couple hundred step-ups which is pretty decent but if I just did the step-ups alone for 15 min straight, I could probably do more than 300 if I really pushed it. It all depends.

So if you want to use a safer alternative to running and still want to get cardio in just about anywhere, go with step-ups and see what's possible for you. Backlund was known for doing step-ups for more than an hour on a consistent basis. That puts him in elite class when it comes to conditioning and was doing this past the age of 40, 50 and 60. He once did step-ups for a period of 8 hours with a small break in between, that just puts him in a universal class, not just world class. You don't need to go that long to get the benefits, a good half hour is more than enough. Any more, that's up to you.

Get in shape the best ways possible and the simpler it is, the better off. 

Here's a good step up implement you can use at home.... 

Have an amazingly awesome day.