People often look for fancy exercise variations without having a solid understanding of the basics. Any good fitness and workout program begins and ends with the fundamental exercises. Anything else is just fluff or a smokescreen used by trainers who themselves don't have a decent understanding. So what exactly are the basic exercises? It's multi-joint or compound movements. This means that several muscle groups are trained all with one movement. The following movements are required to set up a complete workout program. 1) SQUAT 2) UPPER BODY PUSH 3) UPPER BODY PULL 4) BENDING 5) CORE CONTRACTION 6) CORE STABILITY However it doesn't end there. Simply knowing what…
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GET YOUR BASICS DOWN
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TRY THIS 4 EXERCISE CIRCUIT
Here's a quick 4 exercise circuit workout for you. Some of the exercises are tough, but there are always alternatives if you need them. Anyway here are the exercises. Knuckle Dips Clapping Pushups Jump Squats Power Jacks There are two upper body exercises and two ower body exercises. This is great for general fitness and particularly for martial arts. Anyway take a look and give it a try.
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BATTLE ROPES 101
The battle ropes are a very versatile piece of equipment. They're great for strength, endurance, body connection and coordination, and even for training sport specific skills. On top of that it provides am amazing cardio workout and can really help melt those pounds off. In this video, I cover my favourite exercises on the ropes. One thing to keep in mind always is that you must use the body as one unit. In the Chinese internal arts, we like to say "One part moves, All parts move". With the ropes it's very difficult to not do this. For if you don't then…
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9 EXERCISE BODYWEIGHT CIRCUIT
Here's a 9 Exercise Bodyweight Circuit for you. No equipment is required. Here are the exercises. 1. Punisher Squats 2. Pushups with Alternating Widths 3. Frog Jumps 4. Pike Pushups 5. Side Lunges 6. Knuckle Pushups 7. Bear Crawl 8. Ape Crawl 9. Crab Crawl These are done back to back in a circuit. 2 to 4 total circuits are done. It's a tough one, but effective! Check out the video!
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SIL LIM TAO - THE MOST IMPORTANT FORM FOR SELF DEFENSE
Forms practice is a very large part of the traditional martial arts. They serve many purposes. One is that in the old days it served as a glossary of the techniques of a martial art. The majority of the population was illiterate at that time and forms were a way to physically pass down the techniques and spirit of a martial art. Another is that it helps to ingrain the techniques into your subconscious improving muscle memory. And a third is that they are good exercise and in fact great for cardio as well as coordinating the body. However for our…
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COVID BODYWEIGHT CIRCUIT WORKOUT
With almost everyone at home now, having workouts you can do regardless of equipment is essential. Here's a workout you can do requiring only a small floor space and the will to get it done. It's a circuit workout that can be done for either 2 or 3 rounds depending on your fitness level. Don't worry about rushing through it. Just go at your own pace and do the exercises properly with correct focus. For more information about this or other health and fitness related questions, click here
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YOUR 2021 FITNESS PLAN!
We're living in very unusual times to say the least! With things being locked down, gyms closed, restaurants closed, theaters closed, travel being extremely restricted, our lives have been turned completely upside down. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I'm confident that 2021 will slowly see improvements to allow us to return to normal. But one undeniable fact is that this past year with so many people living sedentary lifestyles, has seen a lot of unhealthy weight gain. I personally know some people who've packed on 25 lbs or more this past year. Normally one's day…
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BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT WITH QIGONG
Here's a full body workout using just your bodyweight. With a lot of restrictions at gyms right now and home gym equipment being hard to find, we all need simple minimal workouts like this! Here are the exercises. Jumping Jacks Squats Pushups Peeing Dog To Donkey Kicks Spiderman Mountain Climbers Crunches Superman Do a total of two or three circuits. Each exercise in the circuit is done back to back. After this, do the Qigong finishing exercises and closing For more information about these exercises or for personal training, click here
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FITNESS CHALLENGES!
One of my favourite methods of fitness training is by using Fitness Challenges. I mean everyone loves a challenge, right?! There are a number of ways to do it, but to me the best way is to use either reps or distance. If you're using reps, then pick a number like 300, 400, or 500. Then pick some exercises and an appropriate number of reps so they'll add up to the total number. For distance, take something like a football field or perhaps a large parking lot. Cover the distance with various drills. They could be anything. My martial arts teacher…
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BODYWEIGHT HIIT WORKOUT!
I love HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training)! It can be done with just your bodyweight and the will to get it done. For this workout we have 9 exercises, each one done for 30 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest, and a total of 3 rounds. It works great. The exercise are Burpees Pushups Squats Speed Skaters Renegade Rows Mountain Climbers Ape Crawl Bear Crawl Crab Crawl For more Information about Online or In-Home Personal Training, click here
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CORE WORKOUT FOR RESULTS!
We all know about the importance of core training. The health of your lower back, posture, and overall health make it essential. So how do we go about training it? There are three methods to train the core. 1. Core Stability 2. Core Contraction 3. Core Rotation Although they are all important, by far the most important of the three is the Core Stability. Planks and variations of it is the best way to train this. This will also lay the foundation for the other two. The problem when people try to do Core Contraction exercises without sufficient stability is that the hip flexors…
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AT HOME BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT
Here's an at-home bodyweight workout. I did use a set of chest expanders. However that could be modified for other bodyweight only exercises. Chest expanders are a very underused piece of equipment and I always bring them with me when I travel due to their light weight and portability. Anyway watch the video to see the workout! And for more information about Online or In-Home Personal Training, click here
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INTENSE HIIT LADDER WORKOUT FOR MARTIAL ARTS
This is a killer workout I learned of recently from my Boxing coach. It's called the Walkin' 25s. Here's how it works. It's a circuit with several exercises done back to back and done in a ladder format. With ladders the reps for each exercise increase by 1 with each subsequent circuit. Start with 1 and increase all the way up to 25. After every 5 sets some of the exercises change, but there are some that remain the same all the way through. You can of course change the exercises, but for the example in this post, the exercise that stay the…
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QIGONG MEDITATION FOR RELAXATION AND STRESS MANAGEMENT
We're living in a very chaotic time right now. In December , nobody knew what the Coronavirus was and now it's all over the news in what seems reminiscent of the Spanish Flu of the early 20th Century. We will get through this with positivity, social distancing, and being careful and responsible. In the meantime however, managing stress is super important. And one of the best ways I know of is through Qigong Meditation. I've practiced it for many years now and it's really helped me at particularly stressful points in my life. There are many ways of practicing this. It…
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AT HOME WORKOUTS
We are currently dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic which is leaving a huge number of people stuck indoors at home with nowhere to go. Unfortunately this is just something that we all have to deal with. However that doesn't mean that your fitness has to suffer. In fact, some of my best workouts ever have been right in the comfort of my own home. And of course as an in-home personal trainer, I train people exclusively in their homes. But for those of you who are accustomed to the gym and need to have some at-home workouts, here they are. One…
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HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT?
There are tons of different opinions on this. All I can do is give you my opinion as well as the reasons behind it. Hopefully it will make sense to you. It certainly does to me, but you'll have to decide. So to start with, I remember I used to work at a gym where there was this other trainer about the same age as me. He always changed his client workouts every workout. I don't know if I every saw his clients doing the same thing twice. He would justify it by saying that it's for muscle confusion and to…
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YOUR BLUEPRINT TO DESIGNING A WORKOUT
There is a lot of confusion about what makes a good workout program. Unfortunately part of the problem is just plain old misinformation. I'm sure you've heard the terms "toning" and "shaping". But the fact is that both of those terms are meaningless, and there have been countless people who've simply done poor ineffective workouts in the name of shaping and toning. You have control over exactly two things as far as your muscles and body composition are concerned. They are: 1) BUILDING MUSCLE 2) LOSING FAT When people look at a so-called toned body, they are looking at someone who has added muscle…
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YOUTH FITNESS
The youth of today are our future of tomorrow. Therefore it's super important for them to be healthy and fit. There are of course many distractions that exist today that didn't when I was a kid. Internet, video games, social media, etc. Unfortunately as a result of this, kids are now more sedentary than they've ever been before. So there's the problem. HOW DO WE GET KIDS INTERESTED IN FITNESS? Of course as I'm sure you already know, people won't do something unless it's fun. Hardly a revelation, but it still needs to be pointed out. Personally I think the best way is…
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4 x 3 Workout System - The Complete Workout
Ask 10 trainers for their favourite workouts and I'm sure you'll get 10 different answers. There are many ways to train and they all hold value. It really is impossible to name one workout more effective than any other. The goals you're trying to achieve, physical limitations you may have, your personality, preferences, and other factors all play a role in figuring out the best plan for you. So while it may be impossible to name one absolute best workout, I have discovered one plan which seems to work quite well for most people, is easily customizable, and can be trained…
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TRY THIS TABATA FINISHER
Tabatas are a great exercise method. The entire process is 4 minutes long. 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is done 8 times totaling 4 minutes. You can take either one or two exercises. In this video, we did 2 exercises which were the Wideouts and the Mountain Climbers. A short yet effective workout!
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