Friday Morning Madness

A big shout out to McCabe again for being our weekly guinea pig :-)  Also, a big welcome to Jim Green, Matt,  J.C., and Olga for completing their 1st Friday Morning Workout!  We had 10 people this morning and 5 stations.  Each station consists of 1-2 exercises.  You repeat 10 repetitions of each exercise (except for the burpee broad jumps) for 10 minutes straight. 

Station 1:  15-20 burpee broad jumps (basically the longest path you can find) and walk back to your starting position.  Repeat for 10 minutes.

Station 2:  10 jumping pull-ups followed immediately by 10 renegade rows.  10 minutes straight.

Station 3:  10 step pop push-ups (hands on a step with 3 risers each.  pop to the floor, do a push-up, then pop back up) followed immediately by 10 supine squishy med ball throws (lay on your back with the 20lb dynamax ball.  toss it towards the ceiling 10 times).  10 minutes straight.

Station 4:  10 kettle bell swing curls followed immediately by 10 bodyweight dips. Once again, 10 minutes straight.

Station 5:  10 repetitions on the Fitter (dynamic core) followed immediately by 10 power sit ups.  10 minutes straight.

REST!!!!! YOU ARE DONE!!!!!!!!!!

A quick word of advice...
Do not make the pop push-ups/supine squishy toss your last station.  OUCH!!!!! Sorry Heather and Jim.

Great Job everyone!
Robin 

Friday Morning Navy Challenge/Workout

Hi again!
On the treadmills upstairs at the main gym are a variety of fitness tests.  The test that we picked today as our warm-up was the Navy Fitness Test, which is basically a timed 1.5 mile run.  It starts with a 3 minute warm-up, then the main 1.5 mile run, and finally a 3 minute cool-down.  Be sure not to over-exert yourself during the warm-up.  Your time and mileage does start over at 3 minutes, sorry McCabe...  Our best time today was Adam with a 10 minutes and 5 seconds run.  Followed by Scott with a 12 minutes and 1 second run.  My time was 13 minutes and 17 seconds.  Megan finished in 15 minutes flat ;-).  Then we moved on to Matt's "Leg Smoke" workout, his P.I.P (push-up improvement plan), and "core routine".  Here you go:

Leg Smoke
repeat 2 times

60 seconds bodyweight squats or squat jumps
15 seconds sprint in place or tuck jumps
60 seconds left leg lunge
15 seconds high knees
60 seconds right leg lunge
15 seconds jumping jacks
60 seconds speed skaters
60 seconds side the side hops (feet together)
60 seconds standing calf raises

P.I.P-Push-up improvement plan
1 set only on this one (trust me, 1 set is enough)

60 seconds diamond push-ups
60 seconds standard push-ups
60 seconds wide stance push-ups
60 seconds forward small and fast arm circles (hold arms straight out to the side)
60 seconds reverse small and fast arm circles
60 seconds band fast tricep extensions

Core
repeat 2 times

60 seconds pistons (Sit down and bring both legs to table top position.  Straighten one leg at a time, slowly.)
60 seconds alternating v-ups
60 seconds russian twists
60 seconds power sit ups

This workout takes a full hour.  Try to rest as little as possible.

Have fun!!!!
Robin

Friday Morning 4 Station Circuit

Despite the fact that over half of the group was out of town today, the Friday morning workout was in full force.  Today's workout comes from a workshop that Scott and Christie attended last week.  We had 4 stations that the team worked through together.  The workout takes the full hour, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time.

1) Dynamic Circuit

20 broad jumps
10 squat thrusts (burpee without the push-up)
prisoner lunges (walking lunges with hands behind your head) back to starting position
10 jumping jacks
10 high knees

-repeat for 10 minutes straight with little to no rest.

2) Core Circuit

90 second hover
90 second left side hover
90 second right side hover

75 second hover
75 second left side hover
75 second right side hover

60 second hover
60 second left side hover
60 second right side hover

3) Strength Circuit

15 reps each leg-step up with weight
15 reps kettle bell bent over row
15 reps floor kettle bell chest press (lay on floor)
15 reps front squats

4) Big Finish-Leg Cranks

24 speed squats
24 alternating lunges
12 squat jumps
24 split lunges (plyometric lunges)

DONE!!!!!!! 

Good Luck!  See you again next Friday!!!!!
Robin

Friday Morning Team Circuit

Today our group reached its highest attendance to date!  We started with 11 people and ended with 10.  Not a bad start to a Friday.  Congratulations on all of the first timers.  The workout consisted of 6 stations with 2 people at each station.  In a little under 1 hour we called it a day.  Thanks to everyone who showed up and gave their all!!!!!!!!

Station 1: 
5 minute treadmill sprint

Station 2: 
2 minutes single arm rope slams-10 each for 2 minutes straight
2 minutes sprint on the rower

Station 3:
2 minutes dynamax slam with a lateral hurdle jump (hold the ball while jumping over the hurdle)
2 minutes bench lateral jumps (focus on jumping high)

Station 4:
4 minutes kettlebell turkish get up (you can watch this on YouTube for form)
(2 minutes on each side)

Station 5:
4 minutes-10 each kettlebell alternating single arm swings, followed by 10 kettlebell clean to press.  Keep going for 4 minutes on this one.

Station 6:
5 minute treadmill sprint


We finished our workout with a weight plate push relay.  Place a 45lb weight plate on the floor.  Half of the group starts on one side of the room, while the other half stands about 25 yards away.  Squat down, put your hands of the weight plate and push it to the other end of the room.  Another person will then push the plate back to the starting position.  Repeat until everyone has gone twice :-).

Thanks again to all of the hardworking, non-complaining, dedicated team members!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Friday,
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Robin

Friday Interval Weight Training

Today's workout is a variation of Interval Weight Training; a concept of Pat O'Shea.  Misti White taught me this format and I think it is a GREAT WORKOUT!!!!!!!

The first group consists of a dynamic and heavy lift.  It is followed immediately by 2 minutes of cardio (90% max heart rate).

The second group consists of a heavy lift followed by another 2 minutes of cardio (90% max again).

The third group is one set to failure.

Here is what we did:

Set 1

-10 heavy kettlebell snatches each arm

-followed immediately by:

-10 burpee tuck jumps, 10 dynamax slams (for 2 minutes)

-rest for 1-2 minutes
-repeat for a total of 3 sets

Set 2

-10 heavy barbell deadlifts

-followed immediately by:

-10 speed skaters, 10 broad jumps, 10 mountain climbers, bear walk back to starting place.  Repeat for 2 minutes.

-rest for 1-2 minutes
-repeat for a total of 3 sets

Set 3

-As many pull-ups as you can do.  You can have a spotter help you, but NO GRAVITRON.  1 set and then you are done :-).


The entire workout takes about 45 minutes.  If you have a hard time staying motivated, find workout partners that work harder than you do and set your pace to theirs.  Above all, HAVE FUN!!!!!!

xoxoxo,
Robin

Friday Morning KettleBell Combo

This morning's workout is another creation from Scott Larkin.  Once again, McCabe tried it out for us yesterday and set the bar for the group.  It takes about 20 minutes and if you do not have access to kettlebells, you can use dumbells instead.  We also added 2 new exercises for the group today:  double arm kettlebell high pulls (a kb in each hand) and double arm kettlebell snatches (you can do single arm if your form becomes dangerous).

Pick a weight that you can use throughout the workout.  Keep in mind that it may feel a little light for some exercises and a little heavy for others.  The goal is to complete 4 rounds of 10 repetitions in under 20 minutes.  Our weights ranged from 15lb kettlebells to 30lb kettlebells.  Have Fun!!!!!!

1) Kettlebell swing curls (bicep curl)
2) Kettlebell double arm high pull
3) Kettlebell double arm snatches
4) Kettlebell split jumps (plyometric lunges)
5) Kettlebell bent over rows
6) Kettlebell renegade rows (push-up to row)
7) Mountain climbers

Since today's workout took under 20 minutes, we finished off with max effort rowing.  We set the rower on level 10 for 1 minute.  The goal was to get the highest average watts in 1 minute.  Adam knocked us all out of the water with an average of 367 watts.  However, he was followed very closely by Diane who got an easy 260 average watts!  Way to go team.  Adam also inspired me to practice a new jumprope skill, double under jump starting with the right leg and landing on the left leg.  After about 10 minutes and several jumprope marks across the back of my arms, I think i had 2 successfull jumps.  My goal is to have it down by Thursday.  I will keep you posted ;-).

Robin

Friday Morning-The Naomi Early Riser

The group started about 30 minutes earlier this morning.  For some reason, I jump right out of bed when my alarm starts ringing at 4:45am.  I think it is the anticipation of the workout.  Of course, it helps that it is Friday :-).  I tried something new and ate just a banana before the workout.  By 6:30am I was STARVING!!!!  I definately need to stick to something more substantial from now on. 

We had 6 people in the group this morning:  Naomi and Laura, Robin and Talie, and Meghan and Kristen.  The workout began with 3, 1 minute stations of partner exercises. 

1 minute max effort row (watch average watts)
1 minute partner band teeter totters
-have a long band (a.k.a. slastic) with a handle on each end.  One person grabs one end, while their partner grabs the other.  While one person (with straight arms) brings their arms overhead, the partner is squating and bringing the band to the floor.  It looks like a grown-up teeter totter :-)
1 minute partner plank arm pulls
-both partners are in a push-ups (plank) position facing each other.  Grab your partners right hand.  With your hips staying level, begin to pull your partners arm to you while they offer slight resistance.  Take turns pulling for 30 seconds and then switch arms.

repeat 2-5 times

Now our "real" workout begins:

Set the clock for 15 minutes

6 double arms kettle bell swings
6 double arm kettle bell cleans
6 double arm kettle bell front squat
6 kettle bell plank rows (3 each side)
jump rope 100 x

continute to repeat this circuit for the duration of the 15 mintues.   You should be able to complete 4-6 rounds :-)

Have Fun!

oh yeah, and if you have any energy left.....Go for a 1.5 slow recovery jog :-)

Lots of love and kettle bells!
Robin

THANKS NAOMI FOR THE WORKOUT!!!!! 

Friday Morning Calorie Burn Interval

Here is another workout concept from Scott Larkin.  Thanks again Scott.  And once again, McCabe testing this out for us on Thursday.

50 calorie rower (row until you burn 50 calories)
50 dynamax slams (a.k.a. "squishy slams")

40 calorie sprint
40 double arm kettle bell swings

30 calorie rower
30 kettle bell double arm clean to press

20 calorie sprint
20 burpee walkouts with a pushup

10 calorie rower
10 pull ups

Nice job Nolle, Danielle, Talie and Heather!!!!!!

Have a great weekend!
Robin

Friday morning kettle bell climb

1 deadlift
2 romanian deadlift
3 high pull
4 clean
5 snatch
6 swing curls
7 push press
8 double arm swings
9 double arm clean to press
10 overhead posterior lunge

here is how it goes:

all exercises are using kettle bells.  pick appropriate weights before getting started.

do 1 deadlift

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm, then 6 swing curls

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm, then 6 swing curls, then 7 push presses each arm

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm, then 6 swing curls, then 7 push presses each arm, then 8 double arm swings

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm, then 6 swing curls, then 7 push presses each arm, then 8 double arm swings, then 9 double arm clean to press

do 1 deadlift, then 2 romanian deadlifts, then 3 high pulls each arm, then 4 cleans each arm, then 5 snatches each arm, then 6 swing curls, then 7 push presses each arm, then 8 double arm swings, then 9 double arm clean to press, then 10 overhead posterior lunges (10 each leg)

then CELEBRATE!!!!! you are done :-)

550 Friday workout

Thank you again McCabe for testing our Friday workout and setting the bar for the group at 20 minutes and 6 seconds!!!!!!  Here is how it went:

100 jumps with the jumprope
90 speed squats
80 speed sit ups
70 kettle bell swing curls
60 alternating forward lunges (30ea leg)
50 burpees
40 push ups
30 lateral hurdle jumps
20 dumbbell swinging push press
10 tuck jumps

Robin: 15 minutes 50 seconds
Adam: 18 minutes 38 seconds
Kristen: 19 minutes 19 seconds
Nolle: 31 minutes
Naomi: 16 minutes
Felicia: 27 minutes 36 seconds
Hannah: 19 minutes 43 seconds
Ben: 19 minutes 58 seconds
Heather: 24 minutes 9 seconds
Hartman:  13 minutes 17 seconds

See you next week!!!!!!!!!

Scooter's 10 minutes of fun workout!

Today's workout almost got me.  It starts off with you thinking, "ok, I think I can do this" and ends with, "man, I am not sure I can do this...".  But, we all finished in a little less than an hour.  You start with 4 stations.  Each station has 2 people and for the most part 2 exercises.  You and your partner switch back and forth between the 2 exercises for 10 minutes with NO REST.  After your 10 minutes of work, rest 2 minutes and move to the next station.  It is 40 minutes of total work.  This is what we did:

station 1)
partner dynamax slam followed by a burpee with push-up
(slam the 16-20lb ball to the ground and immediately do a burpee with a push-up.  meanwhile, your partner slams the ball and does a burpee with a push-up.  rotate between you and your partner for the entire 10 minutes).

station 2)
10 dumbbell step ups (20-40lb) on each leg
rotate with
hold a water filled stability ball, a.k.a. "slosh ball" overhead until your partner is done with step ups.  then switch back and forth for 10 minutes.

station 3)
20 rope slams
jumprope until your partner is done.
switch for 10 minutes, no rest.

station 4)
10 box jumps
kneeling up downs until your partner is done with box jumps.
(to do a kneeling up down, start in a squat position, lower your right leg to the floor followed by the left so that you in up in a kneeling position.  then bring the right foot followed by the left food back in front of you so that you are back in a low squat position. repeat, alternating which leg goes down first).

Thanks,
Nolle, Adam, Meghan, Kristen, Talie, and Andrea!!! And always, McCabe and Naomi for testing the workout yesterday.

Danielle.....SLACKER!!!! Be careful of that snooze button, it can be your worst enemy!!!!!!!!

A little me

My personal journey into health began when i was 17 years old.  I had just graduated high school and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.  I was not raised in an health conscious family so, needless to say, the exercise field was not my first option.  Looking back I can remember breakfasts that consisted of chocolate Poptarts, Lucky Charms with a small scoop of icecream (yes, icecream at breakfast), buttered white toast sprinkled with sugar, more sugar and then some cinnamon on top.  Lunch was not much different.  Sometimes it was the little ziplock bag of gummie bears that i carried around with me (we bought them in 5lb bags).  Other days I just picked at whatever the school was serving for lunch.  Snacks were Otter Pops (flavored popsicles with different otter characters) or Little Debbie snack cakes.  I even remember a number of times of eating cookie dough by the spoonfuls or drinking maple syrup straight from the Aunt Jemima bottle.  But at least dinner was always cooked by my mom and much better than the rest of my day.  Coincidently, i was a little more "chubby" than the rest of my friends.  So, here i was at 17 years old at a major crossroads of  my life. I figured the best way to get in shape and stay in shape would be to get a degree in an exercise field.  That was my only reason for choosing that major.  I was tired of being bigger than everyone i knew.  So, I chose the Exercise Science degree at UF and started teaching kickboxing at Gold's Gym.  After moving to Gainesvillle, Gold's gym closed and I started working at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center.  It did not take me long to realize that I could help others.  No longer was I "bigger" than my friends and family.  Now I wanted to inspire and coach others to regain control of their health. Over the past 13 years, I have not only become a Certified Personal Trainer, but also a Holistic Health Coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City,  a Pilates Instructor and Yamuna Body Rolling Instructor. My views have gone from becoming healthy myself, to extremist health freak, to where I am today.  Now I look at "health" from various aspects of life such as:  nutrition, love, laughter, personal/professional growth, finances, fitness and contribution.  Being healthy is not only what you eat or how much you exercise.  It is also what you do on a daily basis that makes a positive difference in your life as well as others.  My goal is for my clients to learn as much about being healthy as possible and to be healthier each year.  I want them to read books, listen to successful people, hire a professional, take school courses, attend workshops...whatever it takes.  Then decide what works for you.  It is perfectly fine, and strongly encouraged, to take little bits and pieces from everything that you learn and create your own strategy for your life.  It is your life, take full responsibilty for it and live proudly.
Robin      

Friday Morning Workout Party

For those of you who missed it; the 6am workout crew worked their butts off this morning.  We lost Rob at the 1/2 way point because he had to be at work, but the Nolle jumped in and we finished strong by 7:05am!  And a big thanks to McCabe for testing this workout for us yesterday!
Here is what we did:

SET 1:
(1st round-60 seconds, 2nd round-45 seconds, 3rd round-30 seconds)
(rest between rounds-2 minutes)

1) Barbell clock lunges
2) Dynamax ball slams
3) Box jumps
4) Plate drags
5) Mountain cross-through (push up position, swing left leg under right arm, tap butt to the ground, then back to push up position)
6) Rope slams

SET 2:
(3 rounds of 30 seconds)
(rest between rounds-1 minute)

1) Barbell jumping lunge taps
2) Push up to dumbbell rotation
3) Hurdle side hops
4) Twisters
5) Dumbbell bicep swing to push press (heavy)
6) Alternating rope slams


Thanks to Heather, Adam, Kristen, Nolle, Rob for showing up and giving it your all.  You Rock!!!!! Happy Friday :-)
Robin

p.s. we missed you Talie and Naomi!

ok. here i go.....

I am not sure why starting a blog can feel like such a scarey thing to do.  Even as i begin to write each new sentence, I can't help but feel slightly anxious knowing that as soon as i hit the "publish" button my every thought and/or spelling or grammar mistake will be out for everyone to see.  Oh well, here i go...  Over the past few months I have begun to read a blog or two.  Yeah I know that i am way behind the rest of the world, as blogging is not really a new concept.  However, what i notice is that people will say exactly what they are thinking online.  There are no real boundaries as to what is politically correct or what is deamed appropriate.  Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion and can blog relentlessly for days about it.  Most people could care less about what other people think about their comments.  I am not that bold, but I have great respect for those fearless bloggers.  It is partially because of them that I am beginning my own journey into blogging.  My purpose for my writing is 2-fold.  To pursue a dream and to inspire others.  The first reason for my blogging is the fact that i have secretly wanted to write for the past few years.  Be it a book, an article, or obviously a blog.  I just want to write.  Sometimes taking that first step towards what we want to do can be the most difficult step in our journey.  So many of us have dreams that remain just that, dreams.  We become so scared that we might fail that we never even take the first step.  We become paralyzed by our fears only to find out in the end that we still fail for lack of even trying.  I went to a concert last weekend for a friend/co-worker of mine.  His dream is to be a rap star.   This may not sound too out of the ordinary, however, he is the first white, Jewish rapper that i have met.  And to be completely honest, HE WAS AMAZING!  It was hard to believe that was really him on the stage, living his dream.  Although during this first concert he only performed 3 songs, the promoters were standing right there waiting to set up his next performance.  You can check him out at http://www.itsblastfome.com/.  What if we all did the very things we were scared of?  What would you do if you knew you could not fail?  What if we stood by our dreams regardless of what other people would think or say? I wonder how many of us would actually suceed just because we tried.  This applies to anything from weight loss, to your dream job, to a marathon, to that one thing you have always thought about doing but never did.  So, this is my start of my journey.  May I inspire you to do that thing you have been thinking about.  You all know what it is.  Here we go...