LET'S TRAIN THE HEAVY BAG! The heavy bag is one of the most recognizable pieces of equipment in Boxing and other martial arts. Indeed it's one of the first things that come to mind when you think of the martial arts. It can come in many shapes, sizes, and types. However there are two major categories. One is the hanging type which can hang from a ceiling hook or from a heavy bag stand and the other is freestanding with a water or sand filled base. Top me the best is the hanging type from a ceiling hook. You can of…

Using the hips is probably the most important part of making your martial arts techniques effective. Many people will punch and kick and only think of the hands or feet. This is essentially the same thing as focusing on the arrow while having a poor bow at the same time. No matter how nice and sharp your arrows may be, without a good bow to launch it, it will be useless. That's why we always emphasize the hips and feet for proper movement as well as power and health benefits.  

Many people talk about HIIT training nowadays and for good reason. Not only is it super effective for both Cardio and Strength Training, but your body remains in fat burning mode for an extended period of time due to what's commonly referred to as the Afterburn Effect. Here's a HIIT workout for you combining weights with bodyweight only exercises.   The only equipment needed for this workout is dumbbells. I used a kettlebell for one of the exercises but that can be done with dumbbells as well. Do each exercise with as little rest between as possible and a total of two…

This is a circuit workout I did very early in the new year. It's a full body, functional workout. Always keep in mind that if your goal is to build muscle, endurance, improve athleticism, or anything else that's worth getting from your fitness efforts, then multi-joint, compound, and functional exercises are the way to go. Exercise machines have their place. Suppose you're injured or otherwise unable to do certain movements. Machines can help fill those gaps. But if you're able to do it, then functional exercises are the way.    For today's workout, we have five exercises all arranged in a circuit. Minimal…

This is an exercise method where we superset two exercises. This means that we alternate between the two rather than doing all the sets for one exercise before moving onto the next. Then we start at 10 reps for one of the exercises and 1 rep of the other exercise. With each set, one exercise decreases in reps while the other one increases. So by the end, the first exercise is down to 1 rep and the second exercise is up to 10 reps. It may sound a bit confusing hearing the explanation, but when you see the video it will…

One of the best pieces of equipment you can use for core and balance training is the BOSU. Because it decreases your stability, you have no choice but to engage your core to hold yourself in position. And two of my favourite exercises are in the video. They are   1. Cross Body Mountain Climbers 2. Suicide Planks Anyway here's the video. Check it out and give it a try!

The TRX is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment you can find anywhere! It's adapted from Gymnastics rings. Although you don't have to do the Iron Cross on them! The beauty of it is that you can adjust the difficulty of the exercises simply by moving your feet. Doing so will change the angle of your body and therefore change the resistance or percentage of your bodyweight you're lifting.   The TRX has two mounting options. One can be in a doorway and the other can be around a bar of some type. This could be a tree branch, a…

Sometimes all you need to workout is stuff you have lying around your house or even in your car! That's exactly what we have today. We're doing a workout just using a spare tire. We've got    TIRE KICKS ROUND THE WORLDS HALOS TIRE TOSS   Sometimes you just need to get a little creative!  

This is absolutely one of the best drills you can do to correct a number of issues including :   1. Not getting your hips and body into your strikes 2. Leaning into your strikes 3. Telegraphing 4. Poor balance   By removing the hands, all you have left is your body. Therefore you have no choice but to use it properly!  

"Real World Strength" is a term that Chinese martial arts icon Bruce Lee used. He didn't believe in simply building up the body to look a certain way or to only lift weight in a specific way. He believed in training in a way to build your strength and fitness that would translate to real applicable situations. Machines have their place of course, but nothing can truly replace free weights, bodyweight exercises, and functional movements.    That's the purpose of this video is to cover some ways to develop this. For this exercise, I'm taking a punching bag and doing squats and…

Far too often, people believe that you need tons of exercises to get good results in fitness. Of course if you like to do a variety of exercises, go ahead. I'm not saying that can't work. I'm just saying that it isn't the only way. Condensed or Limited Programs can work great. Some of the all time great strongmen in history built themselves up on only a handful of exercises. Paul Anderson who is considered one of the strongest men of all time, built himself up primarily on the Overhead Press and the Squat. The first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott,…

Personally I love smoothies. From a very young age, I've always associated smoothies and various shakes with vibrant health. You can mix it up in so many ways, there's just no limit to the possibilities. In fact, it's possible to replace some of your meals with smoothies. A good protein powder mixed in with plenty of fruits and vegetables is tasty, nutritious, and it will prevent you from giving in to hunger and going for junk food. There have been many times when I knew I wouldn't have time to sit down for a meal, so I just drank a good…

It's a fact that Roman Gladiators were some of the most legendary fighters in history. Typically they were slaves or prisoners of war. Some free Romans also chose to become gladiators to pay off debts or perhaps for the thrill of the arena. One thing that was common among all gladiators was their hard training. Yes it was tough, but at the same time their trainers understood the importance of rest and cycling intensity. They couldn't always train all out at full intensity. They knew that recovery was important. Things like Interval Training, Weight Training, and Weapons Training were all…

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…

It's been a tough winter so far here in Southern Ontario, Canada. We got a ton of snow so far this year and we've also had some bitter bone-chilling cold weather. Luckily, we have a bodyweight workout that can be done anywhere. This is a circuit workout for either two or three rounds. Here are the exercises.   Dips Punisher Squats Chinups Tabletop Thrusts Fist Pushups Wideouts Bicep Body Rows Spiderman Mountain Climbers   Of course, certain changes can be made but this is the exact workout I did. Try to keep the reps high and the rest to a minimum. Working out doesn't have…

Here's a circuit workout for you to try. I just did this yesterday. It's a combination of dumbbell and bodyweight exercises and the exercises are all done back to back with minimal rest. The entire circuit is done three times. There are a total of nine exercises. Try to keep the reps on the higher side between 12 and 15. For the Crawls however, they're done either by distance or by time. 30 to 40 seconds each is ideal. The exercises are arranged in such a way for you to alternate between an upper body and a lower body exercise. This…

"COMPLICATE THINGS AND YOU KILL IT". This is an expression that's particularly true when it comes to strength training and fitness in general. There's just so much confusion and excess information out there that people don't know who to listen to. It's much better to simplify things and break things down into its simplest form. Look at the basic functions of your various limbs and construct your workout accordingly.   Here are the SIX MOTIONS FOR STRENGTH TRAINING 1. SQUATTING (KNEE BENDING) 2. BENDING (DEADLIFT OR HINGING MOTION) 3. UPPER BODY PUSH 4. UPPER BODY PULL 5. CORE STABILITY (PLANK) 6. CORE CONTRACTION   And that's really all there is…

The sledgehammer is one piece of equipment that may of course seem very unconventional. But it does have numerous benefits. Although regular dumbbell and barbell training is extremely valuable, the sledgehammer allows you to train along angles and planes of movement that aren't possible with conventional weights. These movements come from weapons training and in the ancient world, weapons training was the primary form of strength training for soldiers. Take a look at the video to see what it's all about!  

One of the negative effects of this pandemic has been the fact that people are sitting more than ever before. This can lead to a whole ton of problems including poor posture and back pain. Thankfully there are some exercises we can do to help target these things. One of my clients works as a lawyer and sits for many hours a day. By doing these exercise, she's been able to mostly eliminate her back pain. Check it out!  

The I GO, YOU GO WORKOUT is a great partner workout you can do. The specific exercises you do aren't important. It's all about the workout structure. Each of you will take turns doing sets of 10 reps for either 4 or 5 sets. The catch is that the only rest you get is the time it takes your partner to do their set! It's a fast paced workout for sure, but it definitely works. I've got 2 examples below. One is with bodyweight and one is with weights.   BODYWEIGHT Punisher Squats Pushups Wideouts (pop squats) Kickouts (the exercise I'm doing in the photo) Close Grip…