Posts Tagged ‘benefits of boot camp’

Given that I actually train people on a daily basis, I can control (to a certain degree) how hard they work.

Granted there are situations when I don’t push someone very hard – goals, their mood, how they’re feeling, age, etc. are all factors in how hard I push someone.

But what’s for certain is how hard I push MYSELF in my own workouts – I always bust my butt and keep the intensity cranked up.  If I’m feeling tired or run-down, I’ll still keep the intensity up but I’ll cut the time down.  If I’m feeling good, I’ll crank the intensity up even more and lengthen the workout a bit (but never longer than 25 minutes).

Far too few people actually follow through with the “kick your butt” mentality when it comes to workouts and that’s a shame because it’s vital if you want to see results plus the higher the intensity the better you feel when you’re done.  There’s just something magical about a killer workout that sends your endorphins through the roof.

I made a quick video about the importance of busting your own ass in your workouts.

Like to see it, here it go…

So what do you think?  Am I off base or does what I’m saying make sense?

Have an awesome day!

And remember…

…Be A Superhero Today!

later,

The Fit Dad

There are a couple things I want to talk about today.

First, there’s still time to sign-up for the first class of Superhero School!  It all begins this Tuesday, March 2 at 5:15pm (at my studio) and there’s still room, so if you’re interested shoot me an email and I’ll give you the specifics.

Remember, once the 6-weeks begins, you won’t be able to start until the next 6-week class…so if you’re still mulling over whether or not to enroll, decide fast or you’ll be left out!

If you need more info on Superhero School, click here and watch the video.

Okay, now on with the show!

A couple weeks ago, we went over one of my favorite “Edisms”, which was “Keep it in, keep it tight” (If you missed that one, click here to understand what the heck I’m talking about) and today I want to go over another one of my favorites…

…”Squeeze Your Cheeks!”

And I’m not talking about squeezing the cheeks on your face to give them that nice, read glow; I’m talking about squeezing your other cheeks – your butt!

I know this may sound odd, but for most of us, our butts are asleep.

The muscles don’t fire the way they should.

We sit way too much and don’t move nearly enough.

When this happens, our butt muscles don’t work the way they’re supposed to and it’s very apparent when I watch people do squats and lunges.

They don’t bend from their hips; they bend from their knees.  Bending from the knees will put too much pressure on the knee joint and will lead to knee pain.

This is why I tell everyone to start the movement by sticking out their butt – which usually ends up in some confused and strange looks…I’m not a dirty old man!

So to correct this, whenever we do any lower body movement like squats, lunges, hip extensions or any of the other various goofy exercises that involve your legs, I am often heard yelling “Squeeze your cheeks!”

Anytime you raise yourself up out of a squat, lunge of hip extension you should focus on driving your heel(s) into the floor and squeezing your butt like you’ve never squeezed before!

Doing this takes the pressure off the knee joint and puts it back where it belongs – the muscles, and more specifically, your butt.

When you put the pressure and focus back on the muscles and off the knee joint, you’ll work more muscle, which also means you’ll burn more calories, which also means you’ll lose more fat and sculpt a sexier, stronger and more toned legs and booty.

So remember…

…Squeeze Your Cheeks!!!

Have a great day!

Ed

P.S. – Don’t forget, Superhero School starts Tuesday, March 2 and there’s still room in my inaugural class.  Let me know if you

want to sign up.  If you decide you want to do it on Wednesday…sorry that’s too late!

And don’t forget that current boot campers get a discount on Superhero School and if you don’t currently do boot camp, but want to do both…you’ll get a discount there as well.  Anytime I say that it always sounds confusing…

P.P.S. – I should also mention that I’ve been talking to many companies around Lincoln about doing Superhero School on-site and they’re very excited about it.  I’ve got 1 company all set to begin next week and 2 more should be starting within the next few weeks.  If you think your company would be a good fit for what I’m trying to accomplish let me know and I’ll shove my big foot in the door.

P.P.P.S. – Don’t forget to Squeeze Your Cheeks!

Life is full of “isms.”

Conservatism.

Liberalism.

I actually Googled the term “ism” and found a site that listed over 200 different “Philosophical Isms.”  And let me tell ya…some of them were a bit cooky!

But any list of “isms” just wouldn’t be complete without the best ism of all isms…

…The Ed’ism.

Yes, there are plenty of Edisms and if you’ve been coming to boot camp you know a few of them.

Way back in the day I had a client who said she could write a book of nothing but Edisms and I told her she should.

She never did, but this is also the same person who called me a “son of a (you fill in the blank)” on more than one occasion.

One of my favorite Edisms is “Keep it in and tight.”

Before you let your mind wander, let me tell you that I’m talking about your stomach.

Whenever you exercise, I want you to always be mindful of keeping your stomach in and tight.

Our stomachs are all out of whack – and I’m not just talking about the blubbery goo that sits on top, I’m talking about the muscle tone and strength.

We sit too much and don’t move enough and that combination wreaks havoc on your midsection and if you’ve had kids…it’s a whole lot worse and can be messed up for years if you’re not mindful of the way you hold your stomach.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that when you master the “keep it in and tight” Edism, you can literally take a couple inches off your waistline.

But what does “keep your stomach in and tight” mean?

The easiest thing to describe it is to think “posture.”  Standing up straight and tall – without letting your stomach “hang” – and remember I’m not talking about fat, I’m talking about the muscle.

It means that whenever you do anything, and I mean anything, I want you to focus on tightening your stomach muscles and pull them in.

I’m NOT talking about the kind of tightening where you can’t breathe because you’re sucking in and flexing your abs so hard.  It’s more of a “brace” than a flex.

Think of the way your stomach feels when doing a Plank.  It’s tight, right?

That’s what I mean when I say “keep it tight.”

Now the “keep it in” part is jus as important because if you keep your abs tight, but push them out, your abs will begin to become comfortable with that position (if you do it long enough).

You don’t want your stomach to be “out” do you?

I didn’t think so.

You want to tighten your stomach like when you’re doing a plank, then focus on “pulling” your stomach in a bit.

I want you to picture something for me…

…I’m sure you’ve seen pictures (or maybe you’re guilty of this yourself) of ladies and guys in their bathing suit with their stomachs sucked in and their chests puffed out.   It looks goofy, doesn’t it?

If the picture were a video, you’d see their faces turning bright red because they’re holding their breath and when the picture is done, they exhale and let their stomachs hang out again.

That’s not what I’m talking about when I say “Keep it in and tight.”

Remember, it’s a “bracing” more than a flexing thing.

Once you master this Edism you will notice an immediate difference in the way your stomach looks, how you walk and sit and even how you feel.

That’s a strong statement, but it’s a true statement…and you won’t have to worry about sucking it in to fit into your favorite pair of pants!

So remember to “Keep it in and tight!”

Have an awesome day!

And remember…

Be a superhero today!

Ed Scow, aka “The Fit Dad”

owner, ELS Boot Camps for Ladies Only
author, Fat Loss To Go
author, Get Fit. Get Sexy. Get Your Superhero Body!
contributor, Men’s Health Magazine
contributor, Women’s Health Magazine
contributor, Big Book of Exercises

When I run boot camp, I try to mix in “regular” exercises like lunges, push-ups and big “combination” exercises along with some “odd” or out of the ordinary exercises.

I thought I’d share with you one of my new favorite boot camp exercises – The Plank Thrust.

I don’t know if I invented it, or if I saw it somewhere and it was stored waaaay back in my memory…but I’m going to claim it as my own

It’s a pretty good core exercise and even hits the booty a bit…and if you pair it with some other “big” exercises it makes for an awesome full body workout.

Rather than trying to describe how to do it, I thought I’d make a video showing you what it should look like.

http://www.vimeo.com/7904121

Be sure to put this fun little exercise in your workouts and let me know what you think.

Until next time…

Ed

Back in June (or May?) I totally changed up the format of boot camp from the old “group” format where everybody did the same thing the entire class, to a station concept.

It’s been much more effective, helps break up the monotony and lets me use new toys in the workout – which is always a good thing.

But the really good thing about it is that I can better pair up exercises in each station and give each boot camp workout a “theme”.

Some days we spend a lot of time on the legs and butt, while others we hit the arms and abs extra hard while totally skipping the legs.

Sometimes it may seem the only reason I do this is to be mean and nasty, but there is actually a method to my madness – but you’re right…sometimes I do just like to be mean and nasty.

Take for example this quick video I made for you that shows an effective 2-exercise combination for the legs and butt.

The exercises are very simple and effective, but when you combine them it makes the workout that much more powerful to the legs and booty.

Then if you take that 2-exercise combination and throw it into a boot camp workout that’s all themed toward the same part of the body (along with some “easy” exercises to break up the intensity), you have yourself an awesome boot camp workout – not just a hard workout, which any goober trainer can make, but an effective workout that is designed for a purpose.

http://www.vimeo.com/6640824

Have an awesome day!

Ed

P.S. – Always remember to pay attention to your form and tempo while doing the exercises.  That gets overlooked by many people, and I help tweak form in boot camp, but I can’t do that when you’re not here (obviously) so you have to make sure you keep perfect form throughout the workout.

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