McKinley Grapevine

Workout #2
This is a cross training workout.  You will be going between a 2 weight lifting moves and then cardio. This workout is going to focus on toning up the arms
Warm-up: 10 min your choice of cardio
1.  Dumbell Curls 15×3 and cable tricep pull downs 15×3 (alternate between the 2 exercises)
2. 10 min cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stair stepper…you should be sweating)
3. Barbell Curls 15×3 and tricep dips on a bench 20×3
4. 10 min cardio
5. Close grip cable curl with straight bar 15×3 and bent over tricep kickbacks (one arm at a time)
6. 10 min cardio

Home Workout:
You will need a set of weights and a kitchen chair.  This will be a circuit training workout.  Your goal will be to go through the circuit 5 times.
1. Do front lunges in place for 2 min
2. Bicep Curls x15
3. Step ups on chair, 1min starting with the right foot and 1 min starting with the left foot
4. Tricep dips on the chair x 15
5. Hold one weight at your chest and do alternating side lunges for 2 min
6. 10 push ups
7. Jumping Jacks for 1min
8. Single arm shoulder press with feet together (this will force you to use your core for stability) do 15 with the right arm and then 15 with the left

Workout #1 @ Home

If you can’t make it to the gym tonight, no problem!  Try this work out at home tonight!  There are 2 different options.  The first one is for those of you who are beginners and the second option is a bit more challenging for those who are currently exercising.  I think most of you may know how to do a jumping jack but if you’re not sure how to do a lunge, push up or plank, click on the links below to learn how   Before you start your first set, walk or jog in place for 2min while pumping your arms back and forth.  This will get your whole body warmed up and ready to tackle this great workout!  No weights are required for this work out BUT…if you have some and you feel like a challenge then BRING IT ON and use your weights for the lunges!!!  Have fun

 

Push up – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh00_rniF8E

Plank –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiA9j-dR0oM

Lunge – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y39eptD6Wj8

 

Option 1:

10 jumping jacks

10 alternating front lunges

10 push ups

10 sec. plank

– Do this 4 set series at least 6x and if you still have energy after 6, go for 10!  If you’re just starting out TODAY, start out by doing your push ups and planks from your knees until you are able to build up some upper body strength.

 

Option 2:

15 jumping jacks

16 alternating front lunges

12 push ups

20 sec plank

– Do this 4 set series 10x!!!!  This workout shouldn’t take longer than 25min but I think most of you could finish in 20min.

Good luck everyone!

I am a fan of H.I.I.T. and steady state cardio  I use both methods on a weekly basis because I have experienced the benefits of both.  I will reveal some pros and cons for each so you can decide for yourself.

H.I.I.T. = High intensity interval training.  This method of training requires short bursts of high intense activity like a sprint, followed by a longer recovery with moderate intensity.  Example, 25 sec sprint :  60 sec jog, and you would cycle through this 10-15x.

H.I.I.T. Pros:

– It’s a short workout, 20-30 min tops with warm up and cool down.  Even those with the busiest of schedules can fit in this type of workout.

– You can increase VO2 max for both high intensity and endurance activities. VO2 max is the max amount of oxygen a person can use and transport during exercise.  You want this number to be high because it enables us to use more fat as fuel instead of glucose.  Therefore you will burn a higher percentage of fat during a H.I.I.T. workout.

– You will increase your EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) resulting in an elevated fat loss state for up to 24 hours after you finish your workout.

– H.I.I.T. is ideal for anyone who doesn’t need to drop a bunch of weight but is looking to reveal more muscle definition by burning off body fat.

– You don’t need a gym

H.I.I.T. Cons:

– This could be viewed as a pro or a con.  You should only do a H.I.I.T. workout 2-3x weekly.  Because of the intensity of the workout your muscles need a day to recover.

– Even though you will burn a higher percentage of fat with H.I.I.T. you don’t burn as many total calories as you would with steady state cardio.

– H.I.I.T. is not ideal for someone who needs to lose 50 or more lbs.  When you need to lose a large amount of weight you need to focus on calorie deficit with both diet and exercise and to my knowledge there is no 20min workout that will burn 600 or more calories without hurting yourself.

– In order for you to benefit the most from this workout you really have to push yourself to the max EVERY set.  To be completely honest, after my 4th or 5th burst of intensity it’s really easy for me to dial it down to 85% instead of giving 100%.  However…if I have a training partner that day, I am more likely to give 100% every set.  So, avoid this con by planning to have a training partner on the days you choose a H.I.I.T. workout!

 

Steady state cardio is doing any type of activity where your HR stays between 65-80% of your max for 60min.

Steady State Cardio Pros:

– This is great and is a must if you’re training for any kind of race or marathon as it helps to build your endurance

– You will burn a large amount of calories.  Depending on how much you weigh and how hard you are working, you will be able to burn between 600-1000 calories in 60min.

– You can chose to do steady state cardio everyday, but I would still recommend taking one rest day.

– You don’t need a gym

Steady State Cardio Cons:

– It will take 60-90 mins of your day BUT, if you have a goal and need to lose weight than you will FIND the time 🙂

– You will lose some lean muscle mass wit the calories you burn

– You stop burning calories when the workout is done

 

I can elaborate more on either method if you have questions.  I try to get the best of both worlds by using H.I.I.T. 2-3x a week and steady state cardio 3-4x a week.  Energy wise, if I do H.I.I.T. earlier on in the day I am able to do 30 min a strength training before dinner.  On the days I do 60mins of steady state cardio, that’s usually all I do.  If I ever add something, it’s 20min of stretching for relaxation.  Let me know if you have any questions 🙂

 

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

 

 

Hey Guys!

This is a workout you can do at home or at the gym.  If you are one who goes to the gym 5 days/weekly you may already split up the body parts.  If you don’t and you want to increase your muscle mass I want to challenge you to try the following program.  The purpose of this program is to build muscular endurance and once you finish a 4-6 week cycle you will notice a strength increase.  To track how successful this program will prove to be for you, write down your 12 rep max for every exercise you choose to do for you 300 workout.  At then end of your 300 workout cycle, go back and record your 12 rep max for the same exercises.  This is not an overly exciting workout but it is challenging and I LOVED IT! The last time I did this workout was a year ago so I will probably start my next 4 week cycle in February. For those interested, I will keep you posted on when I start and finish and the results I had.  Here’s the idea, you do 100 reps of one exercise in no more than 5 sets but you really want to try to get it done in 4.  There’s only 1 rule you have to follow, you can’t reduce your weight you can only increase.  So choose you weight for a 20-25 rep max for the first set.  If your first set was too easy you can increase your weight, but remember your goal is to get 100 reps in 4 sets. You will be working a different body part daily so you will choose 3 exercises for each day; that’s where the “300” comes into play.  The only day you will be doing more than 300 will be on Friday’s because you will do biceps and triceps together so you will have 600reps that day.  The following program will be for those going to the.  This is just an example so feel free to choose different exercises if you’d like. 🙂

Monday: Chest

1. Flat bench press with bar

2. Incline bench press using smith machine or bar

3. Decline cable flye

Tuesday: Back

1. Lat pull down

2. Wide grip seated row

3. Incline back flye

Wednesday: Legs

1. Leg extensions

2. Leg curls or hamstring curls

3. Lunges with bar on shoulder or dumbells in hands

Thursday: Shoulders

1. Seated shoulder press

2. Front raises

3. Rear delt flye

Friday: Biceps and Triceps

Alternate between bi’s and tri’s so you can get through the workout quicker; do 1 set of bi’s and then right away 1 set of tri’s

1. Standing dumbell bicep curls

2. Cable tricep extensions with straight bar

3. Hanging bicep curls (lean body over an incline bench with arms hanging over top of bench)

4. Bent over tricep kickbacks

5. Cable curls with rope

6.  Skull crushers (but don’t crush your skull 😉

 

If you have any questions about any of the exercises please feel free to email me 🙂

Now, for those of you working out at home choose any three of the following exercises and complete 100 reps of each exercise in 4-5 sets.  If you don’t have weights use canned soup, bottled water or a 1 liter bottle with a handle 🙂

1. Push ups

2. Lunges

3. Squats

4. Standing Bicep Curls

5. Tricep Dips

6. Standing Shoulder Press

7. Burpees

8. Jumping Jacks

Going through the workout might not feel AWESOME, HOWEVER, you will feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when you’re done 🙂