Quick , Simple Cardio: The Lost Art of Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is simple but is by no means easy. It is eminently adaptable. You can perform it at a snail’s pace as a means of recovery, or you can jump like a kangaroo on Red Bull as an interval cardio workout.
Very few things burn as many calories as a minute of jumping rope. It’s going to be awkward at first but you can master it in a very short time. If you want to build coordination, athleticism and burn some fat you must start jumping rope. Just find some little girls to teach you how to double dutch.
Add Intensity to Your Workout In 5 Steps
Have you ever seen that guy in the gym who does 2 or 3 reps of an exercise then just sits there on his phone for 5 minutes?
Or that girl who lies on the ground with her feet on a Swiss ball while she find the best dog filter for her next selfie?
They come to the gym for about an hour, but do maybe a minute of work?
You know a few of these people, you might even be one of those people.
They will be the first to complain that their body isn’t changing and the first to remind people how often they “go to” the gym.
They never accomplish anything because they are incredibly unfocused.
In the fitness game distraction and laziness are equal sins. Here’s how you can avoid those two disasters:
Stop Skipping Single Leg Exercises
A single leg exercise is an exercise in which only one leg bears weight or generates force. I’m sure you couldn’t have figured that out on your own.
Single leg exercise are a great, often under-utilized tool in the fitness arsenal.
Single leg exercises can be used and programmed to great effect in programs designed to burn fat, add muscle and build athleticism and balance.
Earn Your Day Off
You can’t just go through the motions and expect good things to happen. You have to actually work, you have to teach yourself to go past the point of comfort. You can’t be scared of being tired, or failing. The gym is your place to fail, it’s the only environment where all the variables are controlled. At the start you should not expect a six pack, or 32 inch quads. You should only expect to lay the foundation of hard work needed to achieve excellent future results. Remember- habits are more important than wishes.
Flexible Dieting 101
There is only one truth about the human metabolism- it is incredibly adaptive. We have evolved eating whatever we could get our hands on, our bodies can function on a majority carnivorous diet, a majority vegetarian diet and an omnivorous diet. You can lose weight, gain muscle, rebuild your health or feel better eating any diet.
That being said your diet should still be built around whole foods, like those listed above.
A diet is largely a game of smart sacrifice. You need to forego some of the things you enjoy, but not all of them. If you love cereal in the morning and can’t see yourself making it a month without it, you can include it but you need to first recognize that you will need to sacrifice something else, like pasta for dinner, to make up for the amount of carbohydrates in the cereal. You can make a diet plan that includes your favorite foods, but still puts you in a caloric deficit.
Carry Your Way to A Stronger Core
In our quest to look good without our shirts on we oftentimes talk about our core. We want it to be stronger. We want it to look tighter. We want all of our abs to be visible.
Most of us think our core is nothing but our abs. We think it can be worked by doing planks for crunches. While this is true, the six pack is only a small portion of the core.
Build a Big Chest Without the Bench Press
There are safer, less impactful ways to develop your chest. You can use these exercises in conjunction with a bench program, or in place of benching.
Five Ways To Move and Feel Better
I know a lot of that flies in the face of conventional “if it hurts don’t use it” wisdom, but that’s ok. The only way we can recover a lost range of motion, or heal a joint is by using it, not ignoring it. By ignoring it you are only prolonging the cycle of pain and fear.