Irv Sumter-Frietag, future Adonis!
The video below shows my client Irv doing his first chins on a high bar. Six-weeks ago, he started doing chins for the first time in over 30 years. Irv started on a barbell fixed in a low position in a squat rack, feet on the floor. Through his diligent practice came this great performance on the high bar.
Not bad for a man in his early 60s with two bypass operations under his belt!
Irv is my hero.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Records were made to be broken...
Good day!
I must bring to your attention the awesome performances of Dr. Ram R and Dale H!
I devised this set of kettlebell exercises to be done 5 times for time:
1-Hand Swing x 5L 5R
Front Squat x 5L 5R
Clean and Press x 5L 5R
Front Lunge x 5L 5R
Dr. Ram set the men's record at 08.50.29 with a 12kg bell. He went non-stop through all 5 sets, no rest! The previous record was 09.17.99.
Dale set the ladies record of 09.24.26 with an 8kg bell. She also went non-stop except for a move from the garage to the lawn when it got too hot inside! The previous record was 10.10.79.
As you can see, both previous records were smashed! Well done Dale and Dr. Ram!
This kettlebell complex is great for overall conditioning and works ALL the major muscle groups in just 4 exercises. Plus you get to work on 4 of the six main KB movements. The only two missing are the Turkish Getup and the Snatch. Try doing TGUs for 3 mins before the routine and 5x5 snatches afterwards to work em all in 20 minutes or less!
I'll go for the 16kg record and post it here soon.
Do.
Good day!
I must bring to your attention the awesome performances of Dr. Ram R and Dale H!
I devised this set of kettlebell exercises to be done 5 times for time:
1-Hand Swing x 5L 5R
Front Squat x 5L 5R
Clean and Press x 5L 5R
Front Lunge x 5L 5R
Dr. Ram set the men's record at 08.50.29 with a 12kg bell. He went non-stop through all 5 sets, no rest! The previous record was 09.17.99.
Dale set the ladies record of 09.24.26 with an 8kg bell. She also went non-stop except for a move from the garage to the lawn when it got too hot inside! The previous record was 10.10.79.
As you can see, both previous records were smashed! Well done Dale and Dr. Ram!
This kettlebell complex is great for overall conditioning and works ALL the major muscle groups in just 4 exercises. Plus you get to work on 4 of the six main KB movements. The only two missing are the Turkish Getup and the Snatch. Try doing TGUs for 3 mins before the routine and 5x5 snatches afterwards to work em all in 20 minutes or less!
I'll go for the 16kg record and post it here soon.
Do.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thanks to Joel for fixing my scooter!
Now that I carry at least three kettlebells wherever I go, the time has come to sell the scooter.
I will be sad to see it go as have had the pleasure of riding it for the past 5 years. I will not, however, miss riding it in the winter!
Joel did an amazing job and I would recommend him to anyone who needs a 4-stroke scooter repaired and maintained. He is a true scooter afficionado which is a great bonus added to the best service and price in town! You can find his ad on Craigslist.
If you are looking to buy a well-maintained 2003 4-stroke Honda Ruckus scooter, see my ad HERE. - edit: I sold the scooter.
I was lucky enough to have a final ride back from the North Shore this past Saturday.
It was glorious!
Now that I carry at least three kettlebells wherever I go, the time has come to sell the scooter.
I will be sad to see it go as have had the pleasure of riding it for the past 5 years. I will not, however, miss riding it in the winter!
Joel did an amazing job and I would recommend him to anyone who needs a 4-stroke scooter repaired and maintained. He is a true scooter afficionado which is a great bonus added to the best service and price in town! You can find his ad on Craigslist.
If you are looking to buy a well-maintained 2003 4-stroke Honda Ruckus scooter, see my ad HERE. - edit: I sold the scooter.
I was lucky enough to have a final ride back from the North Shore this past Saturday.
It was glorious!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Self Defence For Kids!
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of teaching a self defence class for IntoYoga to about 50 kids at a daycamp. As they ranged in age from 5-11, I decided to focus most of the presentation on the mental side of self defence and the importance of making your escape instead of fighting.
Not that this advice is only for kids as everyone, trained or not, should first go out of their way to be nice and avoid trouble. : )
It was good to see that all of them seemed to know the difference between fighting and self-defence. I made sure to make a few points about bullying and emphasized the ideas of standing up as a group and telling a trusted adult, thus demonstrating that such behavior is unacceptable and also hopefully getting the bully some help in changing their ways. We also talked about how important it is to listen to our gut feelings and take their advice if we feel unsafe. Avoiding and escaping a potential danger is of course much better than having to find a way to deal with it when it is upon us.
Before we got into the Wing Tsun method of escaping a wrist-grab, I taught them all how to do a proper pushup, bodyweight squat and table-top. We talked about how having a strong body will help then to kick and punch harder, plus run away faster when making their escape.
As for the aforementioned wrist lock, there were a lot of red arms but everyone seemed to grasp the concept!
Hopefully I will have the opportunity to do this again soon!
I would like to again thank Sheri at IntoYoga for giving me this opportunuty.
See the handout from the class HERE.
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of teaching a self defence class for IntoYoga to about 50 kids at a daycamp. As they ranged in age from 5-11, I decided to focus most of the presentation on the mental side of self defence and the importance of making your escape instead of fighting.
Not that this advice is only for kids as everyone, trained or not, should first go out of their way to be nice and avoid trouble. : )
It was good to see that all of them seemed to know the difference between fighting and self-defence. I made sure to make a few points about bullying and emphasized the ideas of standing up as a group and telling a trusted adult, thus demonstrating that such behavior is unacceptable and also hopefully getting the bully some help in changing their ways. We also talked about how important it is to listen to our gut feelings and take their advice if we feel unsafe. Avoiding and escaping a potential danger is of course much better than having to find a way to deal with it when it is upon us.
Before we got into the Wing Tsun method of escaping a wrist-grab, I taught them all how to do a proper pushup, bodyweight squat and table-top. We talked about how having a strong body will help then to kick and punch harder, plus run away faster when making their escape.
As for the aforementioned wrist lock, there were a lot of red arms but everyone seemed to grasp the concept!
Hopefully I will have the opportunity to do this again soon!
I would like to again thank Sheri at IntoYoga for giving me this opportunuty.
See the handout from the class HERE.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Why working out at home has to come first...
I have had a number of clients over the years who travel a lot for work. This constant upheval in their schedules means that they are often less than consistent in their workouts. What I teach them first is how to exercise with no equipment at all. This way, they are able to train no matter where they find themselves and no matter how tight their schedule is. As we know, consistency is the name of the game when it comes to both short and long-term results.
If you are away from your hometown gym and none is available or convenient to where you are staying, you must know how to stay fit!
The same challenges are also faced by people who live and work in the same city. Even though the local gym or community centre is but a few blocks away, often there just does not seem to be enough time to get there. After all, even if you only do a 30 min workout, there will probably be another 30-45 minutes spent getting ready and then getting to the gym.
Learning how to train effectively at home means that on these days you are still able to exercise your body, thus maintaining and even improving your current level of fitness. Save the gym for the days you need to use heavy weights or equipment (chin up bar, dip station) not necessarily available at home. If you have the room to train with weights at home, your initial investment will be much smaller than a lifetime of membership dues.
What can you do at home? Well, here are two 5-minute bodyweight circuits you can try. Do as many rounds as you can in 5 minutes, rest for 1-2 minutes and then do the second combination.
Combo 1:
Bodyweight Squats (keep knees behind toes) X 5
Pushups (From feet so make sure to raise hands) X 5
Mountain Climbers (lower impact: step instead of jumping) X 10 seconds
Combo 2:
Bodyweight or Jumping Lunges X 6
Burpees (lower impact: step instead of jumping)X 5
Table -Makers (do not touch butt to ground between reps!)X 5
Remember to go at your own challenging pace and do not push so hard that you feel ill. Record how many rounds/reps you did in the 5 mins and try to better it by at least one rep next time.
This method of exercise will improve your conditioning and strength/endurance, not to mention that it is also a wonderful way to "actively recover" from your heavier strength workouts. A further advantage of bodyweight calisthenics is the transformation of strength gained lifting meaningful weights into explosive full-body power.
So there you have it, an instant way to add at least two more workouts to your busy week.
Do.
I have had a number of clients over the years who travel a lot for work. This constant upheval in their schedules means that they are often less than consistent in their workouts. What I teach them first is how to exercise with no equipment at all. This way, they are able to train no matter where they find themselves and no matter how tight their schedule is. As we know, consistency is the name of the game when it comes to both short and long-term results.
If you are away from your hometown gym and none is available or convenient to where you are staying, you must know how to stay fit!
The same challenges are also faced by people who live and work in the same city. Even though the local gym or community centre is but a few blocks away, often there just does not seem to be enough time to get there. After all, even if you only do a 30 min workout, there will probably be another 30-45 minutes spent getting ready and then getting to the gym.
Learning how to train effectively at home means that on these days you are still able to exercise your body, thus maintaining and even improving your current level of fitness. Save the gym for the days you need to use heavy weights or equipment (chin up bar, dip station) not necessarily available at home. If you have the room to train with weights at home, your initial investment will be much smaller than a lifetime of membership dues.
What can you do at home? Well, here are two 5-minute bodyweight circuits you can try. Do as many rounds as you can in 5 minutes, rest for 1-2 minutes and then do the second combination.
Combo 1:
Bodyweight Squats (keep knees behind toes) X 5
Pushups (From feet so make sure to raise hands) X 5
Mountain Climbers (lower impact: step instead of jumping) X 10 seconds
Combo 2:
Bodyweight or Jumping Lunges X 6
Burpees (lower impact: step instead of jumping)X 5
Table -Makers (do not touch butt to ground between reps!)X 5
Remember to go at your own challenging pace and do not push so hard that you feel ill. Record how many rounds/reps you did in the 5 mins and try to better it by at least one rep next time.
This method of exercise will improve your conditioning and strength/endurance, not to mention that it is also a wonderful way to "actively recover" from your heavier strength workouts. A further advantage of bodyweight calisthenics is the transformation of strength gained lifting meaningful weights into explosive full-body power.
So there you have it, an instant way to add at least two more workouts to your busy week.
Do.
Vancouver Farmer's and Sock-Tan Alert!
As we do not have summer for long, make sure to avoid the dreaded farmer's and sock-tan by changing into flip-flops and sleeveless shirts as soon as possible!
Don't let that tan line sink in so soon into the season as it will be harder and harder to match up!
Warning: Please make sure to follow my example and practice safety when in the sun. Wear at least an SPF30 (water and sweat proof) and re-apply as often as directed. You will still get a tan while wearing sunscreen!
As we do not have summer for long, make sure to avoid the dreaded farmer's and sock-tan by changing into flip-flops and sleeveless shirts as soon as possible!
Don't let that tan line sink in so soon into the season as it will be harder and harder to match up!
Warning: Please make sure to follow my example and practice safety when in the sun. Wear at least an SPF30 (water and sweat proof) and re-apply as often as directed. You will still get a tan while wearing sunscreen!
