Badass Fitness

The 100 BLTs Workout - hold the mayo!

Some BLTS are better for us than others. Today's BLT not only will make you stronger, it's sooo calorie-free that, even after finishing 100 of 'em, you'll need to refuel after finishing! Just hold the mayo.

Here's the skinny: B is for Burpees. L is for lunging biceps curls. T is for triceps kickbacks or dips (or your choice of a combo of the two). 100 reps of each. A circuit challenge workout that incorporates cardio intervals (burpees) with strength moves for bi's, tri's and legs and glutes.

By dividing these into 5 sets, it is what I like to call a "digestible challenge." If you prefer, you can even do 10 sets of 10 reps per exercise. Whatever works for you, and gets you to the finish line. So let's get to it...

100 Badass BLTs Workout

The Warmup

30 seconds each:

• Pogo hops
• Jumping jacks
• Run in place, high knees
• Skaters
• Mountain climbers
• Plank hops

The workout

• 20 burpees
• 20 alternating lunges with side biceps curls (do 10 on the left leg, while doing side curls, and then 10 more lunging on the right leg
• 20 tricep dumbbell kickbacks or bench dips (or 10 of each)

Repeat four more times, for a total of 100 BLTs.

Simple? Yes. Easy? Not so much. Badass? 100 percent, yes.

Coming later this week: The first installment of Badass Fist Bumps and Face Palms Awards!

A Weekend Warrior Whip-Through-It Workout: #500Badass Reps in 15!

Our muscles don't know what day it is, what time it is, or how little time we have to work 'em. But we know it's Friday, and we know we should find the time to fit in some fitness. But Happy Hour calls, Saturdays fly by too fast, and Sundays are meant to be lazy, right?

Today's workout is all about maximum effort in minimum time. Use it to kick off your weekend strong, or keep it handy as a go-to quick session when you are traveling or just too busy to get to your favorite fitness class or weight room.

It's just 15 minutes long, but once you start you push all the way through to the finish, working through each circuit with just 15 seconds of rest in between exercises- a sort of variation on Tabata. By combining cardio and strength moves, as well as plyometric drills, you get an ample workout that ends up being a whopping 500 reps. Boom.

Oh, yeah! Bring on the weekend like a fitness supah-star!

Weekend Warrior Workout

Warmup:

• 25 pogos
• 25 jacks
• 25 skaters
• 25 mountain climbers

Circuit 1 (150 reps):

• 25 regular pushups
• 25 regular tricep dips
• 25 jump squats
• 25 regular pushups
• 25 regular tricep dips
• 25 jump squats

Circuit 2 (100 reps):

• 25 right-leg lunges
• 25 left-leg lunges
• 25 step-ups on a bench/step, right side
• 25 step-ups on a bench/step, left side

Circuit 3 (150 reps):

• 25 close-grip pushups (works triceps)
• 15 staggered right-side pushups
• 15 staggered left-side pushups
• 25 alternating jump lunges
• 10 frog pushups (works shoulders)
• 25 incline pushups
• 25 alternating jump lunges

Circuit 4 (100 reps):

25 walking lunges

25 sumo squats

25 walking lunges

25 sumo squats

Circuit 5 (500 more reps....just kidding! Go enjoy the weekend, Badasses. You have earned it:)

Coming next week: The first installment of Badass Fist Bumps and Face Palms - a purely subjective "way to go" and "that's lame-ass" list of recent fitness and health developments....

Exorcise these 5 exercise and health excuses

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. -- Benjamin Franklin

Preach it, Ben! The founding father knew back then what remains true today: making excuses yields lots of whining and few victories.

This is true in all aspects of life - and fitness and health in particular. Let's be real honest here with each other: We have become, by and large (literally in some cases), a lazy society full of excuses for NOT moving and NOT eating well and NOT taking care of the bodies with which we have been blessed.

The result: we are, as a society, quite literally killing ourselves. Don't believe it? Look around next time you're at the mall or grocery store. Those obese children? They are getting diabetes and blood pressure decades before they should, and won't live as long as their parents in many cases. Those 40-somethings who need people movers to get around? They are driving up your health care bill and adding zilch to the nation's productivity. #notawesome.

So let me be blunt for this blog post and eliminate 5 of the most common excuses preventing us from being healthier. My challenge to you: if any of these excuses are in your head, kick them out. They are holding you back.

Five Exercise & Health Excuses, Exorcised

1. I don't have time to work out: Yes you do. Do you have 4 minutes? 10? Then you have time. Whether it's a Tabata drill or two in the morning, or even just pushups performed during the commercial breaks of your guilty pleasure, or the #50BadassReps completed while you do a conference call at work, you can find time. And if you're like most of us, you can easily shave 10 to 20 minutes off of TV watching and Facebook updating to fit in your fitness.

2. The kids keep me so busy/I feel guilty being away from the kids: So why not bring them into your fitness routine? One student does the Insanity DVDs at night with her 2-year-old. He loves it, and she gets in her workout. A playground is an ideal place to make your own little bootcamp while they climb the monkey bars - and chasing after them counts as sprints! Let them operate the Tabata timer app on your phone, and they won't complain that you aren't paying them any attention. Odds are, they'll turn all drill sergeant on you and insist: "One more!"

3. Cooking healthy every day is a hassle; fast food is just easier: Two hours, max, out of 168 hours a week. This is how long it takes to shop and then prep what you would need for a week of healthy lunches or even dinners. I do it every Sunday - hardboil a dozen eggs, grill 5 or 6 chicken breasts, make a healthy coleslaw or couscous salad, mix up low-fat tuna salad, etc. Not only does this save money in the long run, but you'll feel better and not have to stress or wonder where and how you'll find the better food choices. And the 30 minutes to hour you save driving around for lunch? You can bank it to leave earlier than normal and get thee to an after-work workout.

4. I'm so out of shape; why even bother?: Wow. Imagine applying that logic to life. I am so ignorant about arithmetic, why even bother? There are so many words I can't read, why even bother? I still have so many college credits to finish, why even bother? This excuse is borne out of fear, but do yourself a favor and summon up the brave within. It doesn't matter where your starting line starts. Once you take those first few steps, you WILL get better. Look at how far those Biggest Loser contestants have to go when they start out. The sheer pounds are daunting. But they do it, because it IS possible. And it does make them better.

5. I hate (insert exercise here): Let's be honest: Few things stink more than doing an exercise you hate. Some of us hate group classes. Others hate running solo. Maybe your favorite way of working out is with your office kickball league. Go with it. The best way to eliminate the "I don't like" excuse is to find the exercise you do like.Yoga, golf (without the golfcart crutch), volleyball, kickball, ballroom dancing, whatever. Find it and do it.

Coming up: From the Badass Bookshelf: Are we really Born to Run?...

TGIF 10-Minute Cardio Blaster!

There are 1,440 minutes in a day - even a Friday at the end of a busy week. Ten minutes of that is less than 1 percent of an investment. So today, I challenge you to invest at least that 1 percent. This 10-minute cardio/strength intervals routine kicks to the curb any excuse of "I don't have time."

No matter what, we can find 10 minutes. And you are worth the investment. If you have more time, do an extra round or two of the whole circuit. Once you start, keep moving from one exercise to the next quickly with very short rest if needed. This will keep your heart rate up and keep you at the 10-minute mark.

Enough chatter - blast off the weekend with this Badass Cardio Blaster!

Warmup

• 30 seconds of jumping jacks
• 30 seconds of high knees running in place
• 30 seconds of skaters
• 30 seconds of jumping jacks

Cardio Blast

• 30 seconds of burpees
• 30 seconds of jump squats
• 30 seconds of right-leg lunges
• 30 seconds of left-leg lunges
• 30 seconds of mountain climbers
• 30 seconds of plank hops
• 30 seconds of regular pushups
• 30 seconds of close-grip pushups
• 30 seconds of leap frog jumps
• 30 seconds of frog pushups
• 30 seconds of leap frog jumps
• 30 seconds of floor or chair tricep dip
• 30 seconds of burpees
• 30 seconds of jump squats

 

Calories Torched, Muscles Burned: All-Tabata TRX

The beauty of TRX Suspension and Rip Training is its versatility -- and the constant challenge it puts on our muscle power and cardio endurance. TRX engages multiple muscle groups at once, strengthens the core and builds simultaneous strength and agility.

Whether you're using it for pure strength training or cardio intervals, TRX will kick your mother-lovin' Badass to the curb every time.

Today's featured workout uses Tabata intervals on both the Suspension and RIP Trainers for a challenging half-hour routine that will leave your muscles and heart feeling like they got in a much longer sweat session. When you're short on time, doing high-intensity Tabata intervals makes the most of the time you DO have - and boosts metabolism long after you put up those TRX straps.

So fuel up, water up, and get to work....

All-Tabata TRX Workout

*Rest 1-2 minutes in between each Tabata circuit

Warmup: 30 seconds each of jumping jacks, pogo hops, skaters and mountain climbers

Tabata Circuit 1 (TRX at mid-length)

• Regular Biceps Curlsx2
• Jump Squats x2
• Regular Biceps Curls x2
• Jump Squats x2

Tabata Circuit 2 (TRX at mid-length)

• Center Squat-Side Kicks Right x2
• Center Squat-Side Kicks Left x2
• One-Legged Right Leg Squat x2
• One-Legged Left Leg Squat x2

Tabata Circuit 3 (TRX fully extended)

• Chest Press x2
• Front Squat x2
• Chest Press x2
• Front Squat x2

Tabata Circuit 4 (TRX at mid length)

• Tricep Presses x2 (facing away from anchor point)
• High Rows x2
• Tricep Presses x2
• High Rows x2

Tabata Core Circuit (TRX almost fully lengthened)

• Saws x2
• Plank x2
• Crunch x2
• Pike x2


Coming up: 5 Foods that are Super...for unexpected reasons...

 

All-Tabata Bootcamp: Burn it Out

Tabata. You know it burns. But you also know it works - torching calories and working lots of muscles. And if you alternate cardio Tabata drills with strength Tabata and even core Tabata drills, it can become the format for an entire bootcamp class or solo sweat session. Each Tabata circuit is 4 minutes long and consists of 20-second working intervals followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of 8 rounds. This method is one of the most efficient methods of exercise. You get a full workout that works you head to toe, yet doesn't require 90 minutes or two hours of your time.

A couple dozen students and I proved it last week with the bootcamp routine below. This one uses little equipment - just dumbbells - and even that can be swapped out for resistance bands. So give this a whirl, knowing that at the end of the 45 minutes or so you will have pushed your Badass to the limit - and conquered!

All-Tabata Badass Bootcamp 

Warmup

30 seconds each of:

• pogo hops
• jacks
• high knees running in place
• skaters
• mountain climbers

Tabata #1: Cardio

• Burpees x2
• Skaters x2
• Jump Squats x2
• Side kick squats x2 (kick out to the right, squat in the center, kick out to the left, and keep going)

Tabata #2: Strength, Pushups

• Regular Pushups x2
• Tricep Pushups x2
• Decline Pushups x2
• Incline Pushups x2

Tabata #3: Cardio

• Skaters x2
• Jump Lunges Right Side x2
• Jump Lunges Left Side x2
• Burpees x2 

Tabata #3: Strength, Legs

• Weighted Regular Squats x2 (holding dumbbells at side)
• Weighted Sumo, aka Plie, Squats x2
• Weighted Right Side Lunges x2
• Weighted Left Side Lunges x2

Tabata #4: Cardio

• Mountain Climbers x2
• Plank Hops x2
• Leg Thrusts x2
• Dead Man Crawls x2 (with dumbbells)

Tabata #5: Strength, Bi's and Tri's

• Side Biceps Curls x2
• Tricep Kickbacks x2
• Regular Biceps Curls x2
• Tricep Kickbacks (or floor/bench dips) x2

Tabata #6: Core

• Plank x2
• Ab Sprawls x2
• Side Plank Right with Crunch x2
• Side Plank Left with Crunch x2


Coming up: All-Tabata cycling profile, and Chris reaches #360to60!!

Badass Road Warrior Workout: No Excuses

Spring Break. Work trips. Family visits. They all bring us out of our regular environment and throw our routines off, for better (hello, beach weekend!) or worse (oh, look, another work conference).

Sometimes, these trips force us to take the recovery and rest time our bodies need. But if you start to get stir crazy or need to keep your workouts as part of your training regimen, the reality is we can find find ways to fit in fitness - wherever we are, and without equipment.

This equipment-free workout combines Tabata drills for cardio with a series of #50BadassReps for strength to work lower and upper body as well as core. If you want to center in on just lower or just upper body, simply run through that portion of the #50BadassReps 2-3 times depending on your schedule.

Badass Road Warrior Workout, Spring 2012 Edition

Warmup

30 second each of:

• Pogo, or side-to-side, hops
• Jacks
• High Knees
• Skaters
• Mountain climbers
• Plank hops (from plank position, feet together, hop feet from right to left)

Tabata Drill #1 (20 second-sets with a 10-second rest, eight times)

• Burpees, 2 sets
• High Knees, 2 sets
• Burpees, 2 sets
• High Knees, 2 sets

#50BadassReps Lower Body

• 50 Squats
• 25 Right Leg Lunges
• 25 Step-Ups on a bench/chair
• 25 Left Leg Lunges
• 25 Step-Ups on a bench/chair
• 50 Sumo Squats

Tabata Drill #2

• Jump Lunges, Right Leg, 2 sets
• Jump Lunges, Left Leg, 2 sets
• Skaters, 2 sets
• High Knees, 2 sets

#50BadassReps Upper Body

• 25 Walking Pushups
• 25 Tricep Dips on a chair/bench/step
• 25 Decline Pushups
• 25 Walking Planks
• 25 Walking Pushups
• 25 Tricep Dips
• 25 Decline Pushups
• 25 Walking Planks

 #50BadassReps Core

• 5 50-second planks
• 50 90-degree crunches (legs bent at 90 degrees)
• 25 right side oblique crunches
• 25 left side oblique crunches

 Stretch!!!

Coming up: A review of the Nike Fuel Band...

 

The #50BadassReps Multiplier Workout

There's a certain satisfaction that comes in doing a significant number of something. I just ran 26 miles. I just rowed 10,000 meters. I just cycled 25 miles. I just did my first 5 k!

The #50BadassReps challenge, issued each day on Twitter and Facebook, is meant to push us all to doing more than we might have previously thought possible. And today's #50BadassReps Multiplier Workout raises the bar even higher by combining several of those challenges into a full workout.

A few of these exercises include dumbbells but can just as easily be done with nothing but your own awesome Badass for resistance. If you aren't sure about form or technique, check out the how-to videos on the Badass Fitness YouTube channel.

Tackle this one with 110 percent and enjoy the feeling afterward of I just did #50BadassReps, multiplied!

#50BadassReps Multiplier Workout

Warmup

• 25 regular jumping jacks
• 25 skaters
• 25 regular jacks
• 25 skaters
• 25 mountain climbers
• 25 plank hops
• 25 mountain climbers
• 25 plank hops

Circuit 1

• 25 Jump Squats
• 25 5-second wall sits 
• 25 Jump Squats
• 25 5-second wall sits
• 25 right leg lunges
• 25 left leg lunges
• 25 right leg lunges
• 25 left leg lunges
• 15 burpees
• 15 ready-sets

Circuit 2

• 25 walking pushups 
• 25 tricep dips
• 25 plank rows (with or without dumbbells)
• 25 walking pushups
• 25 tricep dips
• 25 plank rows
• 15 burpees
• 15 ready-sets

Circuit 3

• 50 kickbox side kicks, left leg
• 50 kickbox side kicks, right leg
• 25 decline pushups
• 25 step-ups on a bench
• 25 decline pushups
• 25 step-ups on a bench
• 20 burpees
• 20 ready-sets

Circuit 4

• 25 regular crunches
• 50-second boat pose
• 25 regular crunches
• 50-second plank
• 25 oblique crunches right
• 25 oblique crunches left

A bootcamp routine...one minute at a time

Workouts that drag on tediously are, let's be honest, the worst kind. We keep looking at the clock, willing the minutes to speed up so we can get the heck outta there. It stinks.

The routine below, modified from a recent Badass Bootcamp, uses a warmup, cardio drills and 10 strength stations to create a 30- or 60- minute workout that flies by. Forty-five minutes into this bootcamp, a couple of students looked at the clock and said, "Wow is it really almost over already?"

Answer: Yes, but your muscles got a full workout. So it's all good!

If you go through the cardio drills and strength stations once, this will take half an hour. Go again if you're game for the full hour or so! You'll need dumbbells, a bench or step, and/or resistance bands. I have included TRX options as well. Have fun!

One-Minute-At-A-Time Bootcamp Workout

Warmup

30 seconds each of:

• Pogo hops
• High knees run in place
• Jacks
• Squat jacks (Jack and land in a sumo squat)
• Mountain climbers
• Plank hops (From plank position, keep feet together and hop them right to left)

Cardio drill #1

• 15 burpees
• 15 ready-sets
• 15 jump squats
• 15 leap frog jumps forward, 15 back in the same direction

Strength stations: 1 minute at each

• Pushups
• Tricep dips on a bench 
• Step-ups on a bench (dumbbells optional)
• Dead man's crawl
• Plank
• Dumbbell bicep curls (or use TRX/resistance band)
• Squat and press (use dumbbells or place both feet on a resistance band. Squat and as you come up, press the weights/band up into a shoulder press)
• Wall sit
• Decline pushups
• Lunges (dumbbells optional)

Repeat cardio drill (optional)

Repeat strength stations (optional)

Core work (extra credit!):

• 30-second side plank right
• 30-second side plank left
• 30-second boat pose
• 25 regular crunches
• 25 oblique crunches left
• 25 oblique crunches right

Coming Wednesday: The Dallas Mavericks and other pro athletes swear by full-body cryotherapy for muscle recovery and performance...what will my experience in the CryoSauna be?...

Weekend Warrior Workout: 8X8s in 30

TGIF! Here's a (roughly) 30-minute workout using the 8x8 method and your own body weight, with cardio bursts in between. No equipment, no big chunk of time needed. No excuses! Have a great weekend, Badass Army:)

 

 

Warmup:

• 25 jacks
• 25 pogo hops
• 20 skaters
• 20 mountain climbers

8x8s

• Pushups:  8 pushups, followed by 16 mountain climbers (1 right, 2 left, 3 right, 4 left, and so on...). Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds. Yes, that is 64 pushups!
• Tricep dips on a bench or step: 8 dips, followed by 16 jump squats.  Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds.
• Right side lunges: 8 lunges on the right side, followed by 16 jumping jacks.  Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds.
• Left side luges: 8 lunges on the left side, followed by 16 jumping jacks.  Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds.
• Decline pushups: 8 reps, followed by 16 plank hops (1 right, 2 left, 3 right, 4 left, and so on...). Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds.
• Sumo squats: 8 reps, followed by 16 sumo jump squats (feet wide apart, toes turned out at about 45 degrees). Repeat 7 more times, for a total of 8 rounds.


Coming next week: I talk to the team at Trigger Point Therapy in Austin, TX about their unique and effective myofascial release "toys" for runners, triathletes and fitness devotees. Also, 'Ultra' Inspiration from the Badass Bookshelf, and a Chocolate Pumpkin Bread recipe you don't have to resist!