December 5, 2024

Perfect your PushUp

Get Fit Quick Tip:

PushUps!

Do traditional exercises like pushups still have value in your exercise plan? The answer is a resounding yes! Here’s why. Pushups incorporate all muscles of the body. Pushups use the core muscles how they are required to work during your daily activities, in a stabilizing capacity. Pushups build upper body strength.

Find a form of pushups that works for you. For example:

Wall Pushups. Stand facing the wall. Place your hands flat on the wall in front of you, about chest-level high and shoulder-width apart. Bend both elbows and lean into the wall. Keep your feet flat on the floor and keep your torso straight. Extend both arms and return to your starting position.

Bench Pushups. Place your hands in the center of a stable bench, with your body straight and toes on the floor. Bending both elbows, lower your chest toward the bench. Extend your arms and return to your starting position.

Floor Full Pushups. Place both hands flat on the floor with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Tuck your toes under and lift your body up off the floor.  Bend both arms and lower your chest toward the floor. Extend both arms to return to your starting position.

Floor Modified Pushups. Kneel on the floor. Place both hands flat on the floor in front of you about shoulder-width apart. Move your knees back slightly until your body is straight, with only your knees and hands on the floor. Bend both arms and lower your chest to the floor. Extend both arms to return to your starting position.

*Always consult your physician before beginning exercise.

 

 

Adventure for Every Fitness Level by John Taylor

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Adventure for Every Fitness Level by John Taylor

Mud runs offer adventure activities for every fitness level
 

In April of 2011, I asked my students to participate in an activity they had never been exposed to before…a mud run. I believed that they could all complete a military-style obstacle course where they had to climb over 12-foot high walls, propel their bodies across rope swings, crawl underneath razor sharp barbed wire, and dive into mud pits that were 3-feet deep.

Many of my students were scared about signing up for the event, and were even more apprehensive about going to the starting line once we actually got to the race. However, due to the encouragement from teachers and peers, every one of my learners completed the 3.1 mile obstacle course.

Imagine that…my students came to me at the beginning of the school year with obese BMI scores, and they have now conquered an event that many Americans would be too timid to even sign-up for.

The reason my students and I love mud run events is because teams can go at their own pace to complete the race, each member of the team can help one another overcome every obstacle, and in cases when a person is unable to complete a certain task, they can simply go around the impediment and continue their journey.

Of course every mud runner would benefit from physically preparing for the event through an ideal training regimen, but finishing in the top 3 in your age group is not what a mud run is about. Events like the Warrior Dash, Spartan Race, Rugged Maniac, and Primal Run are meant to help friends and colleagues work together to complete a common goal and have fun.

If you are looking to physically prepare for one of these events, here are a few tips to help you train for a mud run competition:

Work on your upper body strength. In many mud runs, you’ll have to go across monkey bars and crawl through some pretty thick mud. Strengthening your shoulders, triceps, and lats will really help your efforts

Build up your cardiovascular endurance. Most people only think of the obstacles when mud runs come to mind, but there is a lot of running in-between these obstacles. Make your training more realistic to the actual event by doing trail and hill sprints and jogs.

Bring sympathy, understanding, and encouragement when you compete in a mud run. Remember, you may be able to get through every obstacle with ease, but your teammate who has just begun working out may struggle. If you are demanding that they “try harder,” do you think they’ll want to compete in one of these events again? The goal is to provide support and encouragement for fellow athletes!

By John Taylor, MS. Star of Emmy-nominated reality television series, “Too Fat for 15: Fighting Back” Follow John on Twitter: @tvfitcoach. Find John on  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coach-John-T/151964238255488?ref=tn_tnmn or reach him via email, jtaylor@wellbalance