The Fun Fit Blog

Don’t Let Go of That Weight!

A bad exercise habit that’s easy to fall into is to loosen up your grip on the weight when strength training.  While exercises for the biceps and triceps tend to force you to have a good grip on that dumbbell or barbell, several strength training exercises make it easy to loosen your grip. This often occurs when other muscles beside your arms are doing much of the exercise.

For example, it’s easy to make the mistake of loosening your grip when performing:
•    lunges
•    back exercises, ie bent over rows
•    squats

A good grip on the weight and straight wrists are essential for a good workout.

A good grip on your weight is important because it:

•    strengthens your forearms
•    improves overall form, which will helps prevent injury
•    helps with EVERY weight training exercise due to improved strength and form

Bad exercise form can easily become a habit. When you work out, constantly pay attention to your form and make corrections whenever necessary. Also, if a mirror is available to check your form, then use it. Sometimes small corrections can make a huge difference for your fitness results.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
“Functional Marc”

Nuru Exercise Anywhere Cards - A Review

A big challenge with staying fit can be the gym itself.
Sometimes you:

• don't have time to travel to the gym
• are traveling and there is no gym at your hotel
• prefer to exercise outside

One of the first things my trainer taught me was that being able to workout without a gym or any equipment was crucial to overall fitness. She taught all her clients how to train every major muscle group without use of gym equipment.

Let's face it, being able to get a good workout in a small space with no equipment is a handy set of skills to have. Even for the most experienced fitness fanatic, creating a complete workout routine with no equipment in a small hotel room can be a challenge. Today, I'm reviewing a product that might help you with that challenge. It's Exercise Anywhere Knowledge Cards by Nuru.

Nuru advertises: "Want to build a better body without a gym? This deck is for men and women of all fitness levels."

Can a deck of 30 double-sided cards really help you build a better body and just how comprehensive can a small deck of exercise cards be? Let's find out.

For a small deck of cards, Nuru covers all the important fitness topics. The overall contents consist of:

1. Basics
2. Chest
3. Back
4. Lower Body
5. Shoulders
6. Arms
7. Abs
8. The Cardio Lab

These cards hit all the key points of what you need to know to create a great workout with no gym equipment. To get you started, the cards cover key items for exercises and cardio. Almost every card contains an easy to understand exercise illustration and many cards contain multiple illustrations. I especially like that Nuru's Exercise Anywhere cards take the time to explain, in a very motivating way, why you are doing the exercise.

Each exercise is well explained and many of these cards provide several variations for each exercise. So 1 card can actually teach you several different exercises. For the most part, you won't need any equipment to perform these exercises. However, a few exercises require the use of a towel and 1 exercise requires the use of water bottles. But these are easy-to-find items.  

These cards are easy to navigate. The deck comes with a metal ring. Each card contains a title on the top of the card and a subject tab on the side of the card. So you never get lost when reading through the cards.

Who are these cards for? They are for everyone from beginner to expert. If you are just starting out, these cards will be of great assistance. If you are a gym expert, you'll still learn a thing or two from these cards and more importantly, devise new ways to keep in shape when traveling and no gym is available. For a traveler, these cards won't take up space in a suitcase yet they'll provide you with complete suggestions for exercises that you could perform in a hotel room. In addition, much of the information in these cards can also be applied to exercises with weights. If you are working out with gym equipment, these cards make a great refresher on the principles of exercise.

Nuru's Exercise Anywhere cards make great addition to anyone's fitness library. These cards cost $8(US) from the Nuru website. For the amount of information the cards provide, $8 seems very affordable. If you are looking for some exercise ideas, give these cards a try.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
"Functional Marc"

Make the Most Out of Your Legs and Your Home Gym Power Cage

It's been almost a year since I reviewed the Powertec Power Cage. I love having a power cage in my home gym.  The power cage allows me to perform a variety of exercises without the need for a spotter. One of my favorite exercises is the squat exercise. I bought my power cage just so I could safely perform squat exercises in my home gym.

However, the biggest difficulty that I've had with my power cage is performing squat exercises.  Proper form for a squat exercise can be challenging and requires coordination with several muscle groups. Doing a squat correctly in an open space is challenging enough. But performing squats in a tight space like a power cage can become almost impossible.

After many months of using my power cage, I discovered that a small change can make a huge difference when it comes to working out in a power cage. And I realized that there's a way to make the most of the power cage interior space.

My Power Cage Mistake:

Originally, I had been facing towards the back of the power cage when I unracked the barbell. Next, I took 1 or 2 step backwards with the weight and then performed the exercise. This turned out to be a terrible idea. My form really suffered from this start position in the cage. My workout space seemed really constrained and I didn't know how far away the barbell and my body were from accidentally hitting the cage bars behind me. No matter what I tried, my squats just didn't feel right.

My Power Cage Fix:

Then I got an idea. What if I faced towards the front of the cage instead? This time I stood in the back of the cage, I faced the front of the cage and unracked the weight. Next I moved forward walking as close to the front of the cage as I could without hitting the cage bars with my barbell. From this position, I was able to perform the exercise with proper form. The whole exercise finally felt right!

Part of the benefit with this position is psychological, but the other benefit is that workout space becomes slightly greater. Because I was able to see outside of the cage this position gave me a feeling of working out in a larger space. Also, I could better judge where to position myself for the maximum amount of workout area.

This change in position might seem obvious but sometimes the obvious is not so obvious and sometimes a slight change can make a big difference when it comes to exercising.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

  

Try Something New With Weights

 Don't keep doing the same things with weights. Get creative. There are all sorts of ways to do your weight exercises differently. If you typically use dumbbells and barbells, try working out with some plates. Plates will give you a different feel. If you can't find the right plate weight for you, then try adding some PlateMates (magnetic weights) to the plate. Plates are great for shoulder exercises. You can also use them for many other exercises, including tricep and lunge exercises.

Don't just use that plate for a barbell, try something different with your exercise.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

How to Mix Up Your Exercise Routines

Don't fall into the trap of fitness boredom. Mix up your routines to keep things interesting. Here are some exercise suggestions to get the most variety.

Most strength training exercises can be done using all of the following:

• dumbbells
• barbells
• weight plates
• kettlebells
• cable machine

That's 5 different ways to do the same exercise and each way will feel different to your muscles.

But let's add even more variety by doing the same strength training exercise with some core training. You can perform many exercises:

• standing on only one foot (beginer level)
• sitting or lying on a fitness ball (beginner to intermediate level)
• standing on an right-side up BOSU (intermediate level)
• standing on a upside-down BOSU (advanced level)
• standing on a wobble board (advanced level)

To get more variety for your cardio exercises you can:

• use the gym's stair stepper
• use the gym's treadmill
• use the gym's elliptical machine
• use the gym's bike
• change the resistance and when possible, the incline of the gym machine you're using
• run outdoors
• walk outdoor
• take the stairs at work
• jump rope
• bike
• swim
• and my favorite, run up and down bleachers

Variety will fuel your motivation to work out. Get creative with your workouts and you'll obtain great results.

Have Fun, Be Fit!
"Functional Marc"

Do You Know Where Your Seat is At the Gym?

Most people know that the 3 main positions for benches are flat, incline, and decline. But one essential adjustment that often gets neglected is the seat position of the bench. Most benches offer a seat adjustment. Typically, this seat adjustment comes in 3 settings, a lower setting, a middle setting, and a higher setting. For example, an incline press may require you to raise the position of the seat on the bench.

The next time you workout on a bench, pay special attention to the position of the seat. A slight adjustment might make all the difference in your work out. And for more info on benches, read my previous post on bench basics.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

Calf Raises With a Power Cage or Smith Machine

I've already talked about proper form for your calf raises. Today I want to talk about calf raises using either a power cage or smith machine instead of a dedicated calf machine. Both the power cage and smith machine work well for standing calf raises. Here are a few pointers:

1) Set the safety bars for either the power cage or smith machine to the proper height, so the safety bar can catch the weight if there is a problem.

2) If you're going to use something elevated to stand on, make sure it's strong enough before you use it. Some of the fitness steps you can buy were never built to support the kind of weight used in a standing calf raise exercise. So you're probably better off with a calf block.

I've been using my power cage in my home gym for calf exercises. I set the barbell to the proper level in the cage along with the safety bars. I find that I can get a good range of motion without resorting to a step or a calf block. Because it's possible to lose your balance while performing this exercise, it's essential that you use the safety bars that come with either the power cage or smith machine.

If you're looking for something different for your calf exercises and you're bored with the machines, try the standing calf raise in either a power cage or smith machine. I think you'll like it.

Have Fun, Be Fit

"Functional Marc"

 

A Weight Loss of Greater Than 10% - Keeping It Off

Here's more reason to exercise regularly. A recent study assessed exercise in 201 overweight women over a 2-year period. At the end of the study, the women who lost 10% or more of their body weight were the women who exercised the most. These women averaged over four and a half hours of exercise every week.

That might sound like a lot of exercise, but really it isn't. That comes out to be about 40 minutes of exercise every day. Find out what makes exercise fun for you. That's the key to regular exercise. So whether you're looking to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight, keep up with your exercise program. It's good for you!

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

Summertime Cardio

With the summer weather here, it's a great time to do outdoor cardio exercise. If it seems too hot for exercise, try working out in the early morning or in the evening when the temperature is cooler. Take a walk in the evening or try an early morning run. For a real challenge, go to your local high school or college outdoor track. You can use the school's track and then run up and down their bleachers several times for a great workout. Make the most out of summer, it won't be here forever.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"

Assisted Pull Ups

Pull-up exercises are a great way to build upper body strength. Whether it's a narrow-grip or wide-grip pull-up exercise, most of us don't have enough strength to lift our entire body for 3 or 4 sets. But don't give up. All you need is a little help.

If you're in the gym there's probably an assisted pull-up machine that you can use.

If you're working out in your home gym, you won't have an assisted pull-up machine, but you may have a pull-up bar. A great way to get an assist with a pull-up bar is to place one of your feet on something and then use your leg to help make the pull-up exercise easier.

For me, a decline bench or BOSU work well. I place one of my feet on either my decline bench or BOSU and use my leg to assist with the pull-up exercise.

Take the opportunity of the assist to concentrate on good form. Focus on slower movements instead of momentum. Your head and legs shouldn't be all over the place. Keep your head and back straight. Try not to swing your legs. And if possible, try and get out some reps without the assist and then finish off the set with the assist.

Pull ups are a great exercise. Don't feel bad if you have trouble performing the exercise, just get an assist.

Have Fun, Be Fit!

"Functional Marc"