Thursday, January 29, 2009

Quick workout today, Thursday, 1/29/09

Today's workout was a quick one.

Started with a slow run on the treadmill increasing the speed every minute up to the 5 min mark. Then I upped the speed to a sprint and sprinted for 20 seconds with a 10 second break. Did that interval style for 5 mins, then finished with a 5 minute run sprinting the last 30 seconds.

Then I jumped rope for 10 minutes on and off.


Total time = 25 mins.


Have fun!

Make it a great day!

Rob

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Workout for Wednesday, 1/28/09

Ok, legs and glutes are a bit sore from yesterday. I really got in deep for sure!!

Today's workout focused on the shoulders.

3 rounds of:
Standing DB shoulder press - 8 reps
Squat w/ band rows - 15 reps
DB Swings - 15 reps (I wish I had kettle bells)
Planks - 1 minute

(Very little rest between exercises or rounds)

3 rounds of:
Smith machine military press - 8 reps
Spiderman - 10 reps each leg
Superman - 10 reps
Side plank raises - 10 reps each side

(This quad-plex sure taxed the stability of the shoulder, hitting different angles)

3 rounds of:
Cable Upright Rows - 10 reps
Cable wood chops - 10 reps each side
Band curls - 10 narrow + 15 wide

3 rounds of:
Rear delt raise - 8 reps
Lateral delt raise - 8 reps
Front delt raise - 8 reps
Decline DB pull-overs - 15 reps

Finished with 3 sets of 8 shrugs.


This workout focused on the shoulders but brought in other muscle groups to increase the metabolic burn. Not only did it focus on strengthening the muscles around the shoulder, it worked the stability of the shoulder as well. This is not a beginner workout by any means, but can be scaled down.

Make it a great day!

Rob

When will Wisconsin get on the fitness band wagon?

I hope that this finds you doing well and enjoying your workouts.

Normally, when writing a blog or an article, you tend to gear what you have to say towards the people who will read it. I am going to go against this "rule" today to vent a bit and hopefully inspire.

If you are reading this, than more than likely, you are working out on a regular basis and hopefully seeing great results. So this entry is not at all directed towards you. But if it makes you think of someone, then please, forward it on to them.

I moved to Wisconsin just over 7 years ago and fell in love with the Milwaukee area. It was here that my unknown passion rose to the surface bubbling up with such power that I completely changed my career to follow it. I haven't looked back yet and I get to honestly say "I am doing what I love and loving what I do!!!" (That's right, TRIPLE exclamation point!)

It has been a long standing statement about the fitness and health level of the general population of Wisconsin being on the "thicker" side of the spectrum. The land of beer and cheese, where we hibernate with beer in the winter and celebrate the outdoors with festivals (and beer) in the summer. Fish Fry's, Kringle, Anything-on-a-stick (deep fried of course), and the ever present beer has helped Wisconsin get to the thicker side of things. Oh, and don't forget the tailgating!

Most people use these as excuses as to why they don't workout or aren't is shape. My question is this: Why not use these as motivators to workout?

Like I said before, I fell in love with this area. I live where I can be in a big city in 20 mins or out in the woods in 15. I can get to Chicago in less than 2 hours, or I can be out on a remote lake in the same amount of time. The festivals are top of the nation, you can't go a weekend without being able to find one. The people are super nice. And I am one of the few that love the snow and cold as well as the warm-hot summers. And I do enjoy a great tasting beer now and then.

So I am not asking anyone to change anything about what makes Wisconsin, Wisconsin.

If you truly want a healthy lifestyle and be as fit and healthy as you possibly can, then a lot of these things will have to be reduced dramatically if not removed all together. (My apologies to the Fried Snickers on a stick people, you may be out of business soon!) But even if you want to be able to enjoy all that the Wisconsin lifestyle has to offer, why wouldn't you still want to be as healthy as possible!

This is why I don't understand why Wisconsin hasn't jumped on the fitness band wagon. If I wanted to be able to spend more money on anything I wanted, but didn't want to reduce my savings and an opportunity came along that would allow me more cash flow without much time involved... YOU BET I WOULD JUMP ON THAT!

I want to be careful when I state this next point. So read carefully!

First I will repeat what I said before... If you truly want a healthy lifestyle and be as fit and healthy as you possibly can, then a lot of these things will have to be reduced dramatically if not removed all together. But if you want to give your body a fighting chance from developing things like diabetes, plaque build up in the arteries, heart attacks, cancer... etc... etc... Then you need to get on a workout program. This (and here is the important part) does not mean that once you start working out, you can then eat more of the fried food or drink more beer.

Here is what you will find happening when you start to workout:
-Your clothes will fit better
-You will have more energy
-You will sleep better
-Your cravings will fade away
-Your focus will improve
-You will want to do more and you will be able to do more
-This might cause you to get more done at work creating an opportunity for a raise
-Your personal life will improve
-Your sex drive will improve
-You will have more moments of happy thoughts than of negative ones
-You will feel better about yourself, inside and out!
-There are numerous other benefits as well.

AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN ADDRESSED THE BENEFIT OF EATING CLEAN!

So Wisconsin, when will you stop using our lifestyle as a crutch for not working out and start creating your healthy lifestyle that you want?

I have a client who gave up bowling so she could have personal training. Her goals were set and one helped her get closer to her goals, and one didn't. She made the right choice.

Make it a great day!

Rob Crenshaw,
The Fitness Buff

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Workout for Tuesday, 1/27/09

So I decided to start posting my workouts. I have seen great results from them myself. Enjoy!

3 rounds of:
Smith Machine Split Squats - 8 reps
Jump Squats - 15 reps
Mountain Climbers - 10 reps each foot
Fitball Rollouts - 10 reps

3 rounds of:
DB single leg squats - 8 reps each leg
Jump Split Squats - 10 reps each leg
Spiderman Push-ups - 8 reps each side
Hanging leg raise - 10 reps (straight legs)

3 rounds of:
Deadlift - 8 reps
DB Step up on bench - 8 each side
Cable Stability pushout - 12 each side
DB curls on balance board - 8 reps together

3 rounds of:
Seated calf raises - 15 reps
Standing calf raises - 15 reps


This was a great workout and my legs were full by the end, great sweat as well. This workout is for boosting my metabolism, getting my power and endurance ready for soccer, and for building muscle (for looks.)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Make it a great day!

The Fitness Buff!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Smack - Smack - POW!

So the new year is in full swing by now and I decided to do some new things. Not resolutions by any means, just a new way to look at the way I do things already, with a few new things added in. Besides, making "new year resolutions" now would be like setting the meeting's agenda 5 mins into the meeting. Forgive me for going off on a tangent here, but I resolved 3 years ago not to make any more new years resolutions. So far this is the only one I have kept! Ever!
Ok, back to what I was rambling about... Now that I don't have resolutions once a year, I typically will either take time to review my life and decide where I am or I will be forced to look at my life and make some changes. This is one of "those" times. The time where life smacks you in the face, makes sure you are looking it in the eye, and then smacks you in the face again. But before you can look it back in the eye, it socks you in the gut until you cry "Uncle!"
Ok Life... I get it, I'm awake now and looking. What do you want me to see?

Today's lesson: Stop focusing on the obstacle, it isn't even on the right path anyway!

I have a vision, a dream of what I want to do. I know what it is and I feel I am heading right for it. I made a recent change that I thought would keep me going in that direction, an it is doing just that... EXCEPT... (I love that word...) Except that there was this obstacle that appeared in my periphery. Just like a horse without blinders, I headed right towards it. This obstacle was going to stop my progress, and keep me from reaching my dream. I looked for ways around it, I pleaded with it to go away, and it just got bigger. Momentum came to a screeeeeeching halt. Nothing was moving, it was like the temp dropped to absolute zero.

That's when it happened, SMACK - SMACK - POW!

And as I was falling to the ground, jaw flapping in the wind like it wasn't attached, the natural twist to my body from the impact turning my head around, I saw it... There I lay, looking at the path I had been going down, happy as a lark, clear of any obstacles. And not only that, but just down the path a bit further is this bigger path.

Now, those that know me can attest to this... As I was growing up, I wasn't one of those people who felt or even thought that I was destined for big things. I just went through each day doing what I thought "normal" people did. You get up, go to work or school, come home, complain about it, go to bed, rinse and repeat. It wasn't until very recent... see "POW!" above... that I feel that I am destined for something big... much bigger than what I am doing. I have had people tell me that I am and that I would be doing great things. So now, I am back on the right path. I have put my blinders on and I am leading the horse, not just riding it.

What I am doing is nothing new. New to me, yes! But it is something that people... successful people have been doing for centuries. I have read about it, heard about it, seen it... but for some reason, I haven't done it. Now is my time.

When will NOW be your time? Don't wait until life socks you in the gut. What is it that you want? Decide what you want for your life, put the blinders on and focus on that path! Do you want a healthier life style? Then every thing you do is a choice and you can chose the healthier option... one choice at a time.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Why are you the best you that you can be?

One of my lines I use is "Working hard on myself so I can help others can work hard on themselves." And I tell you, when I have that in front of me, I get tons done and my motivation is off the chart. But when I start looking at the task... or more likely the tons of tasks I have in front of me, I get bogged down in the how and start find ways to get around it. I believe that my purpose in life is to help others. Call it being a healer, call it a servant to others, call it being a leader, or whatever you want, it doesn't matter if I haven't developed the best me ever. This doesn't mean that I put off helping others until I feel I am the best me ever. That would be like putting all your money in the bank and not paying a single bill until you had enough money to pay for everything for the rest of your life. Doesn't make sense does it?
So what is it that makes you the best you ever? What is your motivation for doing what you do? Is it so you can be a better parent? Is it because you can make a better life for your family? Is it because you want to be known for something? Maybe it is to get over a negative experience you had earlier in life. It isn't hard to find what that one thing is that motivates you to the Nth degree. All you need to do is realize how you feel when you are thinking about different areas of your life. When you think about your kids, does your energy skyrocket? When you think about serving others does your energy just soar and you feel like taking on the world? Maybe you think about see yourself getting a certain award and you get that second wind to keep on going. It doesn't matter what it is, it only matters that it spikes your energy levels of the charts. What if you haven't found that one thing yet? What do you do then? Simple, think of anything that raises your energy even just an ounce. The more you do that, the more thoughts that increase your energy will come to mind. Soon enough, that one thing (and you will know it when it hits you) will come into view and... BAM! Off you go!

This approach applies to all aspect of life. Especially when it comes to fitness. Do you enjoy playing with your kids, or maybe your kids are at the age where you will be expecting grand kids soon and you want to be able to play with them. Again, whatever increases your energy when you think about it is what you need to keep in mind when you are heading to the gym or thinking about grabbing another bag of chips. That increased energy will get you to the gym before the sofa, it will give you the will power to leave the bag of chips on the shelf, it will allow you to go that extra set or two.

So take a few mins and think about everything in your life. All the people you know and care about. About anything that may be coming up in the future. And when you all the sudden feel like getting up and doing something... keep that thought in the front of your brain, write it down, post it anywhere and everywhere.

After all, your life is about you, why not make it the best one ever!

Make it a great day!

The Fitness Buff
Rob Crenshaw

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Fitness Buff on the news...

Click on this link to see me on the news the Sunday after Christmas 2008.

Hope you are having a great day!

The Fitness Buff

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Do as I DO... You will anyway.

Be cautious, little eyes are watching. Especially if you have children around. I love hearing from my clients when they tell me about their kids "working out" with random objects. "Look mom, I'm exercising!" as little Sally is swinging her playground ball back and forth. This gives me hope for the future of our kids. You can use this for motivation to get moving.

My fellow trainer, Holly Rigsby (www.FitFummyMummy.com), posted one morning that her son was planning out his day... School, -nap -play bingo -build Star Wars Lego's. I responded with a comment saying how awesome that was and asked if I could borrow him for a weeks worth of planning. Her reply was "Well he sees me do it every morning. Plus he has memorized my daily and weekly tasks that are posted on the wall. He is one bright kid!" This kid is destined for a great life. Not only does he have two great parents who work hard at what they do and spend quality time with their sun, he sees what they do and learns why they do it. These are awesome habits to have, and at such a young age too.

I have another client who unfortunately experienced a heart attack last year. The paramedics had to bring him back 3 times on the short ride to the hospital. Because of his working out, the damage to his heart was very minimal, he had a quick recovery and he is back to his normal routines. He had been trying to get his family to get on board with working out and they just wouldn't do it. After hearing that his working out helped save his life and get him back to normal quicker, he was able to get his two kids into working out and his wife has now joined the gym as well. His kids have seen him working out but didn't know the benefit of it until his heart attack. These kids have made a huge change in their lifestyle and will end up being very healthy people when they grow up.

Kids will pick up the habits of their parents. That is why diabetes seems to be hereditary when it is mostly lifestyle. They eat the same foods that their parents eat unless something happens, usually some sort of sickness, to change those behaviors. If you want to make sure they pick up the good habits, then you also need to show them the "why" of those habits. When the combination of seeing their parent do something with learning why it is good to do, they will be more likely to follow your footsteps. So when your child sees you working out or going to the gym, let them know what you are getting out of it. It can be as simple as "I am working out so I can spend more time with you as a healthy person."

If you want your kids to not pick up your bad habits... that is very simple... STOP doing them!

Remember, if you look out for yourself first, making sure you are fit and healthy, then your kids will be more likely to do the same and you will have more ability to be there for them for the rest of your life!

Make it a great day!

The Fitness Buff

Friday, January 2, 2009

Workout meals...

I would like to see what everyone likes to eat/drink for their work outs. Please post a reply to this blog with the foods or drinks you use for pre-, during, and post- workouts and then also post what your primary goal for working out is, such as fat loss, muscle gain, improved general fitness etc... I think it will be interesting to see...