#HardCore 2

Not going to do too much writing today. The video will explain it all. In this shot we are focusing on your lower abs and using the jump rope for our cardio. Follow along and let us know how you like it.

Beginner:
Jump Rope Intervals: 4x50
Straight Leg Pulses: 4x25

Intermediate:
Jump Rope (mixed jump): 4x100
Leg Lifts: 4x35

Beast Mode:
Jump Rope (Double Unders): 4x25
Victory Crunch: 4x50

Be healthy, infinitely curious, and eternally grateful.

Micah Hayes

Booty Hell

Today we are going to talk about working your glutes. We all know everybody likes little tight ass or a big tight ass just depends on your preference. Anyhow, one way to ensure that you keep it tight is by doing exercises that focus strictly on that area like squats or lunges. However, I know my ladies tend to believe that squats and lunges make your thighs big which couldn't be further from the truth but we will leave that argument for another day.

 Today, I came equipped with a weight-free alternative; the "kick back". There are several differnt variations of this exercise that we will dive into on later post but for today we will focus on this one. Today's exercise is an easy way to get a quick butt lifting exercise done at home without the use of weights and also without any unnecessary strain on your joint.

Just like the woman in the image above you simply get down on your hands and knees and raise your leg up. You will continue this motion without ever letting the moving knee touch the ground until you are done and ready to switch. It is also very important that you don't lean too much into the resting leg this will create an unnecessary strain on your resting hip. The best way to prevent this is to engage your abs and to keep the resting hip directly above the resting knee.

This is how you might want to incorporate this into a butt lifting workout.

Grunt
Cardio: Power Walk on the treadmill at an incline or ride the bike standing up for 1 min. between each exercise
Abs: Scissor Kicks or Flutter Kicks (works the inner thighs) 4x25
Butt: Kick Backs 4x20 (10 on each leg)

Animal
Cardio: Power Walk on the treadmill at an incline or ride the bike standing up for 2 min. between each exercise
Abs: Scissor Kicks or Flutter Kicks (works the inner thighs) 4x50
Butt: Kick Backs 4x60 (30 on each leg)

Beast Mode
Cardio: Power Walk on the treadmill at an incline or ride the bike standing up for 3 min. between each exercise
Abs: Scissor Kicks or Flutter Kicks (works the inner thighs) 4x100
Butt: Kick Backs 4x100 (50 on each leg)

NOW GO AND LIFT THOSE BOTTOMS!!!

Be healthy, infinitely curious, and eternally grateful.

Micah Hayes

The Sweatbox Birthday

Here is the run down for The Sweatbox Birthday Celebration for the month of February.

It starts February 11th with a FREE client appreciation month where we will be offering a free workout that Saturday morning at 10am. We will have a prize give away every five minutes, you must be sweating to win. Afterwards, we will be providing all participants with refreshments and a Sweatbox treat.

Our next event is a Donation Only Class on February 25th. The proceeds from this class will be going to the Decatur Career Academy in efforts to bring more awareness to what they do for the students at Decatur High School. We will  have free health screenings from a medical professional, Big Peach Running Company will also be joining us to offer up information about running and great athletic products, and a few local businesses will be offering up product info as well.

Our final event is going to be a Sweatbox Cocktail Party Saturday night February 25th,  at 6. We will have music, drinks, food, and great company. I hope to see you guys there. 

#HardCore Ab Burner Part 1

In order to bring some order to my blog I have decided to simplify it a bit and discuss three topics a week. I am going to piggy back off of The Sweatbox rip and shred series and offer posts discussing abs(hard core), upper body(gun show), and lower body(booty hell).

For our first offering in the #HardCore category we want to give you a short workout you can use in order to workout all four areas of the abdominals. You will see constant contractions in the abs throughout the entire workout and I will break a sweat. Make sure you focus on keeping your abs constantly engaged you can do this by trying to pull your belly button down towards the floor. I know this is impossible to do, but that will make you contract your abs and increase your work load.

Equipment:
You will need a stability ball and a mat. You can purchase these at any wal-mart, target, or fitness store.

Exercise Levels:
Workout Grunts(beginners): attempt 30 reps of each exercise and 10 reps of each interval
Workout Warriors(intermediate): attemps 50 reps of each exercise and 20 reps of each interval
#BEASTMODE(expert): attempt 100 reps of each exercise and 30 reps of each interval

Repeat this set three times giving yourself about 1 min. of rest in between each set. It is going to burn like hell, however tight abs come with a price.

The Gun Show

The almighty biceps and triceps!!! Guys would love to see Mt. Everest on the top of there arms and ladies never want to feel the back their arms do a harlem shake when they go to put on a shirt. Today I am going to discuss how to maximize output in the biceps and triceps by understanding the overall make up of this muscle group.

It is good to know that the Biceps have two heads a short head and a long head. This is important because different positioning and exercises will maximize output in the short head vs. the long head and vice versa. The short head of your bicep is located on the inside of your arm and the short head is located on the outside. If you just do bicep curls all day no doubt your arms will get bigger and you will even get stronger but will you be getting max output highly unlikely. In order to get a great burn going in the biceps I am going to suggest three simple things you can do to take your bicep curl to the next level.

Traditional Curl: This is what you see in your average gym 99.99% of the time it is a single joint movement beginning with the back of your hand on your thighs and you curl up until your bicep is flexed then you release back to the resting position and repeat. We can enhance this by focusing solely on the three different contractions involved in a bicep curl. First is the concentric contraction, you want to maximize this contraction by exploding from the resting position straight to the top of the curl. Once in this position you will experience an isometric contraction where the bicep is flexed I advise you maintain that contraction for three seconds doing this will help you generate approximately 20% greater strength. Once you release this position you will want to count three more seconds down before you are back to the resting position this will generate approximately 50% more strength. These small changes allow you maximize the output in both the long and short head of your bicep helping you to generate more strength and turn those garden snakes into pythons. I suggest doing this exercise 3x10 and going up from there.

Tricep Dips:  Doing a tricep dip for instance is something you can do from the comfort of your home but it can be as effective as anything you ever do for your triceps if you do them right. Take a chair and put it against the wall so it won't move. Once you have got it comfortable turn around and put your hand on the chair palms down so that your fingers are gripping the edge of the chair. Your legs should be straight so that the only things supporting your body are your hand on the chair and the heels of your feet on the floor. From here you want to extend up so that your elbows are locked out once you are in this position I want you to hold it for three seconds as well. Release that position and begin dipping back down I want you to count to three before your elbows are bent and resting at a 90 degree angle. Rinse and repeat. I suggest doing this exercise 3x10 and going up from there.

Again, tweaking these simple exercises by understanding the different contractions will maximize output and work all the heads on your biceps and triceps. Overtime you will feel yourself get stronger and notice the results.

Be healthy, infinitely curious, and eternally grateful.

Micah Hayes

Hard Core

Everyone wants nice abs but no one knows where to start. In order to get a Hard Core you have to understand what you are working with. First off, your abs are not just made up of the ncie six pack you see in the middle they are actually separated into four major sections that together act as a girdle to help you maintain proper balance, movement through out the torso, and protect your spinal column.

Your six pack or keg whichever suits you best is scientifically known as the rectus abdominus, underneath your love handles and spare tire are the transversus abdominus, and wrapping around you on the sides are your external and internal obliques.

Now that you understand how they are separated and where they are located now we can talk about how to maximize there output. The rectus abdominus are responsible flexing the abs and receive the most attention from different crunch variations. The transversus abdominus compress the abs and get most of their work done during a leg lift or plank variation. The obliques rotate and bend the torso and get a great burn during oblique twist or side crunches. 

Doing one kind of abdominal exercise is not going to get you your desired results, however mixing them up is going to help you to train multiple areas in the abdomen and give you a great burn. BUT ab work alone is not going to get this six pack you have been looking for because that type of exercise does not lend itself to fat burn. Involving some kind of cardiovascular work either before, after, or during your ab workout is going to get you optimal results. 

For Example:

100 Crunches

Ride the bike for 3 minutes

100 Bicycles

Ride the bike for 3 minutes

100 Flutter Kicks
Ride the bike for 3 minutes

Doing some variation of an interval like the one above is going to keep your workout upbeat and fresh and allow you to work in several different muscle groups during one session. Obviously your circuit will last longer than the one above but it is a start. Make sure you mix it up and keep it fresh and you will be on your way to a HARD CORE in no time.

Be healthy, infinitely curious, and eternally grateful.

Micah Hayes 

Mental Strength!!!

I forgot about one very important kind of strength yesterday when I was going off on my rant about the subject; MENTAL STRENGTH.

This is maybe the most important strength of them all, and the most difficult to develop. How do you push through pain, disappointment, and fatigue when trying to reach your fitness goals. I hope I am not making this seem to dramatic but if you think about you encounter all of those things on your way to the top of Mt. Fitness.

I have seen a client break a finger climbing a rope and keep going (I wanted them to stop, but he was definitely in his zone), break down and cry in the middle of a workout, throw tires across the room in frustration all because of the pain, disappointment, and fatigue they encountered during their workout. I am not suggesting that you have to run through a brick wall before you can develop mental strength. However, I am asking how hard are you willing to work for it. What are you willing to sacrifice to look like the person you dream about, to break last year's half-marathon time, or just to be the best.

First things first, it takes time. You are not going to just walk into any arena of life 100% prepared for what is going to happen to you. As you encounter different challenges in the gym you will adjust, you will break down, then you will adjust again, and so on and so forth. Just like you are breaking down your muscles so that they can heal and come back stronger you have to allow your mind to endure the same process.

Secondly, dont take the process for granted. It is in the process that you learn about who your are and how you will respond to stressful situations. If you can hang tough and be diligent in a week when you only lose 1lb and continue to push through you will look up and see a week where you have lost 5 lbs. It is all about staying the course and appreciating every step of the process.

Finally, be realistic about your expectations. Exercise is not a miracle drug and done right it takes time to get you exactly where you want to be. Get rid of the reality tv mentality that says I am going to lose 20lbs this week but only go to the gym twice. It will not happen. Give yourself a year and set out 3 month goals. Give yourself something to look forward too and something to work towards. Otherwise you will be off the wagon in a matter of weeks.

That all being said, mental strength ultimately has to be gained. It will come through the ups and downs of your personal process. Embrace your process, stay focused on your goal, and work hard. Before you know it you will be a model of mental toughness and strength.

Be healthy, infinitely curious, and eternally grateful.

Micah Hayes