Badass Fitness

Full-body Wakeup...with the Dead Man's Crawl

Combination moves that work multiple muscle groups and get your heart rate up are a great way to make the most of your workout window, no matter how small or limited.

My latest fave is the "Dead Man's Crawl," which combines a plank row with part of a burpee and weighted jump squats. Two of my clients kindly demo'd the move earlier this week, as you see in the video below. They learned quickly why I only had them doing 10 reps at a time. 

The Move: Dead Man's Crawl

Muscles worked: Back, shoulders, core, legs

The Technique:

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Get into a plank position, hands under shoulders.
• Row on the right side, row on the left side.
• Bring your hands, with the weights, together, while in the plank position.
• Hop your legs up toward your chest and stand up. (Variation: Just walk your legs up, as seen in the second video below)
• Do three jump squats while holding the weights.
• That's one rep. Do 9 more.

 

 

 

 

 Coming up:

Monday Move: Weighted Two-Bench Triceps Dip

The first Monday in October is upon us, but falling thermometers -- and sweaters that cover those pumpkin latte layers -- are no reason to start ignoring the arms.

Because before we know it, spring will be here - and we'll be shedding extra clothing layers once again. Better to have kept the triceps and biceps strong and lean, so that we're ready to bear arms with abandon!

More importantly, stronger arms means we can live better - lifting those grocery bags, hoisting those growing kids, packing and unpacking a new house like it's nothin'.

This week's Monday Move - the Weighted Two-Bench Triceps Dip - intensifies the bench dip by adding weight and elevating the feet. Those two changes force the triceps to work harder with every dip. Use this for your next upper-body training session and feel the burn!

The Move: Weighted Two-Bench Triceps Dip

The Technique: Place two flat benches about two feet apart - enough that you can hold onto the edge of one bench while propping your heels up on the other, with a slight bend in the knees (pictured below).

Grab a weight plate, anywhere from 10 pounds to 45, depending on your strength level. To get set up, place your butt on the edge of one bench. Place the weight plate in your lap. Elevate the feet onto the other bench. Now let your butt come off the bench and, with fingers facing forward and hands close to your butt, slowly lower down into a dip. Keep your butt close to the bench with each dip. Try to do 12 to 15 per set, three sets.

Incorporating it: Use this in a triceps-biceps session, as one of three to four triceps moves such as tricep rope presses, overhead dumbbell triceps presses and triceps kickbacks.

Coming Wednesday: In a strength training rut? Climb your way out with these five alternative moves that spice up old standards...

Monday Move: One-Legged Hip Thrust

Two days after Badass Boot Camp, my glutes and hamstrings are feeling the "after-burn." A few students told me they're feeling it, too.

The lunges, suicides and Tabata drills no doubt played a role. But I give most credit/blame to one particular move, which is this week's Monday Move: The One-Legged Hip Thrust.

Like so many of my faves, this one requires little to no equipment and is portable - you can drop to the floor just about anywhere and bust out a few sets. The One-Legged Hip Thrust got a shout-out in a men's fitness magazine recently, so it's also a move that is definitely NOT just for the ladies.

The One-Legged Hip Thrust will strengthen the glutes and the hamstrings, as well as the lower back/core - all muscles that need to be in tip-top shape for tip-top performance in running, cycling, triathlons, etc. The bonus is that this, in conjunction with a steady regimen of cardio/strength training and clean eating, will also make your Badasses look tighter in those jeans.

So try a few and let me know what you think!

The Move: One-Legged Hip Thrust

The Technique: You can do these flat on the floor, or using a bench, step or flat-side-down Bosu Trainer for elevation. To work the right side, dig the heel into the floor or elevated surface. Lift your hips slightly as you bring the left leg straight up, heel facing the ceiling. Now thrust the hip up, squeezing the glutes as you push the left heel toward the ceiling. Come back to the starting position. That's one rep. Do 15-20 reps on each side, going slowly and with control. The squeeze at the top is  where the work happens.

Incorporating It: This is a great exercise to include in any hamstrings-and-glutes session. Mix it in with deadlifts, step-ups on a bench; dropsies, and side glute lifts (with or without resistance bands).

 

Coming up: A high-energy strength and cardio workout; how to get through a football tailgate without wrecking your Badass Journey; and how 4 weeks of tiny changes can lead to big leaps in your fitness and health....

Monday Move: Bosu Pushup-Squat Shoulder Press

In keeping with last week's theme of "Fitness for the Time-Pressed Badass Army," this week's Monday Move will work shoulders, core and lower body all at once. It will even get that heart rate going if you move through it with a bit of controlled speed.

This exercise was part of a Badass-kicking interval training Bosu class I took last month at the SCW Atlanta fitness conference. As with so many exercises, on paper it seems like a piece of cake: Four Bosu pushups, followed by four squatting shoulder presses using the Bosu. 

The first couple of rounds, you're thinking, I've got this. It's when you multiply that four-plus-four drill times 8-10 rounds that the REAL challenge sets in. The results, though, are worth the burn. This Monday Move doesn't take much time, yet works multiple muscle groups. It is exactly the type of exercise we need when trying to make the most of limited workout time.

Note: I used a Bosu trainer for this, but you could use dumbbells as well if you prefer or if you don't have a Bosu.

OK, let's get to it! Start out doing 6 rounds, and work your way up to 10-12 over time. Push through it! You're stronger than you think you are, Badasses!

The Move: Bosu Pushup-Squat Shoulder Press

The Technique:

1. Start with the Bosu turned upside down - rounded dome on the floor. Get into a plank position over the Bosu, hands gripping the outer edges. From here, with knees off the floor (or knees on the floor if you're just starting out), do four strong pushups, letting yourself go down low.

 

2. From the pushup plank position, jump the feet up so that they land at the side of the Bosu, your legs in a low squat position.

 

 

3. Now, lift the Bosu off the floor and start to bring it up in front of your chest as you move into an overhead press.

 

 

4. Bring the Bosu up overhead and press with power from that squat position. That is one round. To begin round 2, just drop the Bosu back to the floor and drop back into that plank pushup position. Repeat steps 1 through 4 between five and 11 more rounds.

 

Incorporating it: You could do this as part of strength Tabata circuit, or as part of a shoulder and chest workout that includes moves like chest fly's, chest presses, descending pushups, stagger pushups, straight-arm shoulder raises to the front and side, etc.

Coming up: Three meals, five ingredients, 15 minutes...and You Are Your Fridge!

Monday Move: TRX Bosu Pike

There is approximately 1 percent of the human population that has great abs naturally. They eat what they want, they have the metabolism of a hummingbird, they rarely exercise, and we roll our eyes because it is so unfair, right?

For the rest of us in the Badass Army, we have to work for a summer-sizzlin' core. I know how much work I put in - and I know what I see (and dislike) when I stop putting in my reps of crunches and planks or when I don't eat so clean. So as the summer heat descends upon us, it's time to focus on the core.

This week's Monday Move combines three of my favorite things -- TRX, Bosu trainer, and pikes -- for one awesome core move: The TRX Bosu Pike. Woot!

Even without fitness "toys" like the TRX and Bosu, pikes are one of the more challenging, but also more effective total-core moves because they require lots of strength and good form. Doing them with the feet suspended in the TRX and the upper body balancing on the Bosu trainer is like the Mac Daddy of Six-Pack preparation!

This is tough, but you can do it. If you're just starting out, do these with just the TRX and work your way up to using the Bosu. And you can always just start doing pikes on the floor - or with your legs on top of a resistance ball and progress from there.

The Move: TRX Bosu Pike

The Technique: Lower the TRX strap to mid-calf level, and walk your feet back into the straps. Position the Bosu trainer on its rounded side and in front of you so that the center is lined up under your chest when you come into a plank position. Rest your forearms on top of the Bosu, or grab the sides with your hands and keep the arms straight as you straighten your body and tighten your core into a plank position. Breathe and think about pulling your belly button into your spine. From here, slowly "pike" up by making a V with your body - using the core to lift your butt up. Slowly lower down. That's one rep. Start with 8 to 10 and progress to 15 or 20.

 
Incorporating it: Use this move as part of a core series that includes:

• 30-second planks on the floor, with arms resting on top of a resistance ball or Bosu
• Side planks with 5-second leg lifts
• Bicycles
• Crunches w both feet on the floor
• Crunches with both feet off the floor, legs at 90 degrees


 Coming tomorrow: An all-legs and glutes "TRX Tuesday" workout!

Monday Move: Weighted Sumo Bosu Squat

Ever since attending Bosu classes at the SCW Fitness Conference in Orlando earlier this month, I've been crushing on the Bosu Trainer. Just ask my group fitness students, who have been getting ample doses of this Badass CEO's "Bosu Playground" with plyometric jump squats, burpees, partner lunge drills, etc.

See, the Bosu Trainer makes every move more challenging. And that's my kind of fitness toy! It looks like a harmless blue half-ball - but the trampoline-like rounded top forces more muscle and core engagement with every strength and cardio move.

This week's Monday Move takes the Sumo Squat and adds the Bosu AND dumbbells for an extra dose of Badass. It will tighten your glutes and thighs, and sneak in a little arm-strengthening along the way.

Use it as part of a lower-body strength session that includes walking lunges, regular squats, jump squats and deadlifts. Embrace the Burn!

The Move: Weighted Sumo Bosu Squat 

The Technique: Holding dumbbells of 5 to 10 lbs, place the feet in a wide stance Sumo Squat position but with the right foot on top of the Bosu and the left leg on the floor. Your feet should be angled out at about a 45-degree angle, and when you come down into that squat position, your legs should end at a 90-degree angle -- no knees tracking over the toes.

To start: With feet in position and holding the dumbbells out front or up higher in a hammer curl position, lower straight down until your legs are at 90 degrees. Now slowly come back up, squeezing the glutes and inner thighs. That's one rep. Do 20 reps. Hold it down low in the squat position for 20 seconds. Now switch to do 20 reps on the other leg with a 20-second hold at the end.

 

Incorporating it: Try this quick lower-body routine, circuit style. Do each of the following, no rest in between moves. Rest one minute at the end of the circuit and repeat 2 to 4 rounds:

• Walking weighted lunges, 5- to 10-lb dumbbells
• Regular squats, on the Bosu, holding dumbbells (pictured, at right)
• Weighted Sumo Bosu Squat
• Jump squats
• Jump lunges
• Deadlifts holding dumbbells


Coming Wednesday: Making more of your time in the grocery store...

Monday Move: Medicine Ball Pushup

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you have gathered by now that I like pushups. And not just the basic pushup, but multiple variations that put emphasis on the triceps, shoulders, etc.

This week's Monday Move is yet another type of pushup: The Medicine Ball Pushup.

I like these pushups because incorporating the ball isolates one side of the chest at a time and provides an extra challenge. Having one hand on the medicine ball or a softer beach-type ball requires even more muscle engagement than regular pushups as you work to stabilize the ball while pushing up and down. You'll work your biceps, chest - and your core!

The Move: Medicine Ball Pushup

The Technique: Start with the medicine ball under your right palm. Position your upper body just as you would a regular pushup - hands about as far apart as a floor mat, with your weight right over your palms. When you come down, you want your thumbs to be tracking right at your nipple line. Do 10-15 pushups, slow and with control, while keeping the right hand steady on the ball. You can do these on your knees at first and progress to a "boy" pushup, knees of the ground, as you get stronger over time.

Switch the medicine ball to the left side and do 10-15 pushups there. Voila! Badass Guns! Stronger Chest!

  

Incorporating it: I use these as part of a chest series that compounds exercises to really push and burn the chest muscles. Add in cardio bursts for "active recovery." It would look something like this:

• 30 seconds of mountain climbers, 30 seconds of running in place with high knees
• Medicine Ball Pushups
• Dumbbell Chest Presses (on a bench, Bosu or resistance ball, or with TRX)
• 15 burpees, 30 seconds of high knees
• Medicine Ball Pushups
• Dumbbell Chest Fly  (on a bench, Bosu or resistance ball, or with TRX)
• 20 jumping jack squats, 30 seconds of mountain climbers
• Medicine Ball Pushups
• Incline or Decline Chest Presses with a weighted barbell or dumbbells
• Repeat the series 2 more times, for a total of 3 rounds
• STRETCH!


Coming this week: A few calorie comparison jaw-droppers. And a Taekwondo update: Can the Badass CEO break her first board in Taekwondo? ...

 

The Magic Number for Badass Biceps: 21

The first time I saw that Tina Turner/Ike Turner movie "What's Love Got to Do With It" featuring the actress Angela Bassett, all I could concentrate on were Bassett's arms.

I kept thinking, "Dang! Look at her biceps! I wish I had those." That was way back when, long before I knew anything about strength training or fitness. I just knew her arms looked hot.

Fast forward to Saturday, when I took a picture (above left) with one of the little "Bad Donkeys" (censored version of "Badass," of course) who came to my 2nd Annual BadDonkey Easter Egg Hunt Boot Camp out at Doak Campbell Stadium here in Tallahassee. The picture served as an "aha!" moment - when you see yourself and think, is that me?

In this case, I saw my arms and thought, "Are those mine?!?" Suddenly, I realized all those TRX workouts and strength-training sessions with dumbbells and resistance bands had paid off. The picture was the evidence: I have biceps!

The same "aha!" happens when Badasses start losing weight or getting leaner and stronger - my friend Rose talks about how, one day pushing her grocery cart down the frozen foods aisle, she caught a glimpse of her actual Badass in the glass doors and thought, "Wow! All this cycling is working! I have a butt!"

Which brings me to this week's Monday Move: The 21 Biceps Curl.

This is one of the more challenging biceps moves, but also effective. The "21" refers to the number of total reps you do in one set, but the "21" is also divided into three 7-rep segments that ultimately target the entire bicep. Include this in a strength session focused on biceps and triceps and see how those "potatoes" start to pop on your upper arms!

The Move: 21 Biceps Curl

The Technique: These can be done with dumbbells, a barbell, or resistance bands. Start with your hands, palms up, lowered into the relaxed-muscle position down at your quads. Hands should be about shoulder width apart. Raise your hands just until you start to feel the bicep engage. This is your starting position.

For the first seven reps, go from here up to the halfway point - with your arms at 90 degrees (hands at elbow level, pictured below left). For the next seven reps, go from the halfway point up to the top of the bicep curl (hands up near shoulder level, pictured below right). For the last seven reps, start at the bottom level where you began the set and curl all the way up, full range of motion. These last seven are supposed to burn. If not, add more weight/resistance - but not so much that you can't perform the full curl for the last seven reps.

Incorporating it: Use this as part of a strength session that features three moves for biceps and three for triceps. Such as:

• 21 Biceps Curls
• Hammer Curls
• Concentration Curls
• Tricep Dips
• Tricep Kickbacks
• Overhead Tricep Extensions

Coming Wednesday: A new playlist, with a cardio routine to match it! And Friday, we check in with our guest blogger on his "360 to 30" Badass Journey.

Monday Move: The Wall Sit (aka Don't Move and Feel the Burn!)

Some of the toughest strength training exercises are the ones in which we don't move. When we hold a plank for 30 seconds, or go down into a squat and hold it for 45 seconds, or hold the bottom of a pushup for 10 seconds, the clock suddenly seems to craaaawwwwl.

Well, the clock often feels like it just stops altogether for this week's Monday Move: The Wall Sit.

Basically, you find a spot on the wall and "sit down" as if you were sitting in a chair - except the only thing holding you up is the strength of your legs, the quads in particular. And then you hold it for anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or two. These minutes can feel like eternities, especially when muscle fatigue creeps in and your legs start to shake.

But that whole "no pain, no gain" mantra holds true for the Wall Sit. Incorporated into your strength training, these will make your quads and glutes better and tighter than ever. Just in time for a summer filled with shorts and beach days.

So go ahead. "Sit" down a few times and see how it feels!

The Move: Wall Sit

The Technique: These can be done flat against the wall or with a resistance ball (pictured, above and below). Whichever way you choose, position your feet hip width or slightly wider than hip width apart with toes facing forward. Make sure they are far enough out in front of you that when you "sit," the legs end up at 90 degrees. You don't want your feet too close in, or the knees will track over the toes when you sit.

Lower down, or "sit," as you would in a chair, until the legs are a 90-degree angle. Now just hold and breath, keeping your chest up. Start with 15-second holds if you're a new Badass recruit, and work your way up to 30 seconds, then a minute, then 90 seconds. Extreme Badasses can shoot for two minutes.

  
Incorporating it: Lately I've been using this for TRX classes or body conditioning classes - putting one-minute wall sits in between strength sets. Do one-minute wall sits five to seven times over the course of a 45-minute class, and your legs will wake up fast.

You can also do wall sits in between sets of upper-body strength training. Every time I see fellow gym rats sitting on a bench for two minutes in between strength sets, I want to tell them to do wall sits instead. More calories burned, more muscles worked. Sitting on a bench can be done at home. So when it's your workout time, keep working!

Coming this week: Healthy Snack, or sugar, calorie and fat trap? Plus: the "Badasses Do 100" strength routine....

 

Monday Move: The Box Jump

Leg  presses, Smith Machine squats and leg extensions are all great for building leg and glute strength. But for power and agility, you also need plyometrics.

Plyometric exercises use height, balance, and explosive power to push your muscles harder. Odds are, you've done plyometrics whether you know it or not, with jump squats, burpees and even jumping jacks.

This week's Monday Move - the Box Jump - will make your entire lower body and core stronger. Use this as cardio bursts in between sets of traditional strength moves for legs, or in between upper body strength training sets.

The move: Box Jump

The technique: Set up a step bench with one to two risers on each side (over time, you'll gain strength and jump height and be able to add risers). Make sure they're secure. Stand behind the bench and jump up onto the top of the bench, landing with soft knees as you lower into a squat. Jump back onto the floor, again landing softly onto both feet. That's one rep. Aim for 20 box jumps for one set, and work up to three to five sets.

 

Great for: Toning the legs and glutes, and adding speed to runners' personal bests.

Coming Wednesday: Think you're too busy for breakfast? Not with this make-ahead treat...