Posts Tagged ‘exercises’

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

It’s rare that I pimp books – especially if I haven’t written them myself and don’t know the person who wrote it, but I’ve got to tell you about a couple books that hit the shelves a couple weeks ago.

Both are called “The Big Book Of Exercises” and are put out by Men’s Health Magazine and Women’s Health Magazine.  They are 2 awesome books that cover 619 exercises – including pictures, detailed descrptions, etc. and the exercises are split up into what areas of the body they predominantly work, etc.

But if you want to know the COOLEST part…the MOST AWESOMEST (my word) part…the HOTTEST DAMN-DIGGITY part…the WICKED COOL part (with thick Boston accent)…the ASS-KICKINEST (my word) part – okay now I’ve run out of phrases for cool so I’ll just get to the point…

Watch the video to see why these books are so bloody awesome and why I wholeheartedly recommend them!

http://www.vimeo.com/8606943

I think these books should be a part of everyone’s fitness library.  To get your hands on them, click the images below and you’ll be taken to Amazon.com or you can head to your nearest bookseller or I imagine you could get them from the Men’s Health and Women’s Health websites.

Have an awesome day!

And remember…

…Be A Superhero Today!

later,

The Fit Dad

P.S. – I get ZERO money by telling you to go buy those books…nada…zilch…not a damn thing so don’t think I’m pimping something just because I get paid.

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

There are a number of ways I like to torture, I mean train the ladies in boot camp.  Sometimes I pair a couple especially devious exercises together to make your arms wiggle, while other times I might throw in a couple abs exercises that make it hurt to laugh the next day.

I do it out of love…really I do.

I’ve also got a number of “favorite” boot camp exercises including Push-ups, Mountain Climbers and Plank Extensions, just to name a few.

Another one of my favorite boot camp exercises is the Squat.

There are a number of different variations of the Squat that we do in boot camp, but the problem is most ladies do them wrong.

That’s not a good thing.

Give this video a watch and see how to do Squats properly, that way you can make sure you get the most out of each and every boot camp workout and be on the way to getting you firm, toned and sexy legs and booty.

http://www.vimeo.com/6866963

Have an awesome day!

Ed