Specific Fitness

Workout Wednesday: Powerful Legs

2010-09-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Anywhere Exercise to Truly Increase Leg Strength

More often than not the legs are the part of the body that usually get ignored when it comes to working out and exercise. This is likely because most leg workouts are intimidating and downright difficult.

Granted, working out any part of the body is always going to be a bit challenging, but it doesn't necessarily have to be scary! Using only your body weight and some practice you can build up leg strength, balance, and power with this one workout.

I'm talking about one legged squats. To do this workout you must simply practice this move which will in turn give you the above results.

To begin the workout, you stand on one foot with the opposite leg out in front parallel to the floor. Keep your hands out in front to help with the balance and then slowly squat down as if sitting in a low chair. Once you have almost reached the floor, come back up. This is one rep!

Don't forget to alternate legs so they both get an equal workout!

If you are having trouble start out slowly! Practice normal squats with both legs then build up to one leg.
Once you are at one leg squats, try building up from there as well by not going down as far until you have mastered the move and built up more strength.

You may consider using a swiss ball against a flat wall to help "roll" down into the squat position.

Always be careful when doing this move and do not perform this exercise if you have bad knees!

Once mastered and utilized as part of your regular fitness regimen, you will see that this move can truly increase leg strength as well as flexibility, balance, power, speed, and more.

Good luck!

Training Tip Tuesdays: Easy Way to Tighten Your Abs

2010-09-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

Tighten Your Lips for Tighter Abs

The specific fitness tip I am about to present you may have heard of before but it is a great tip nonetheless. The great thing about this little "secret" is that it takes absolutely no special thinking/training/equipment at all!

Enough with the introduction though, here is the actual tip to achieve tighter abs: While doing any abdominal exercise, purse your lips together and blow out as if trying to whistle.

That's it! Pretty simple huh? The reason why this works is because this body motion naturally contracts and tightens your core region with ease. Go ahead try it right now, while sitting in your chair reading this tighten your lips and blow out air. Do you feel your abs getting tighter?

If used will doing crunches, sit ups, push ups, etc. you will really start to feel the burn and a major difference with just this little change.

So next time you are knocking out a few crunches or whatnot try this little secret tip to really add a little more intensity to your ab workout.

Best of luck to you!

Shannon

Meal Monday: Packed Oatmeal Powerfood

2010-09-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Delicious Breakfast that Gets You Going

Hey everyone, sorry for the late replies again, I've been pretty busy these past few weeks. Don't
worry though, I'm going to put in a little catch up time here and make four posts to cover everything I've missed.

Today's Meal Monday is going to cover a very basic meal (as well as basic principle) when it comes to breakfast. As well all know, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, so it is crucial (for fitness reasons as well as general health reasons) to fill up on a good breakfast to help you get through the day.

One of the easiest and quickest meals that is perfect for breakfast is good ol' oatmeal. Now even oatmeal can be turned into a not-so-healthy option when loaded up with sugars and the like, so it's important to make your oatmeal packed with powerfoods. Here are a few things that can really add flavor to your oatmeal while packing it with nutrients that will fill you up and keep you going.

Your favorite fruits: cut up some apples, throw in blueberries, etc. All of them healthy and delicious!
Flaxseed: flaxseed is a great additive as it is packed with fiber and other good-for-you nutrients.
Nuts: Almonds would be your best choice here, but try your favorite for some added protein!
Spice it up/Make it sweet: Use cinnamon or a little touch of honey to really make your oatmeal savory.

Remember, the best type of oatmeal you can get is plain steel-cut oats. If you can not get these then regular instant oatmeal will do just fine. The best part of this meal is that it is full of protein, good fats, etc. and can be prepared in no time at all!

If you are not a huge fan of oatmeal you could always try buying a high in fiber cereal or granola cereal, add some milk, and put in the microwave for a minute or two! Delicious!

So next time you wake up, try making this quick and tasty meal and see how much of a difference it makes in your day and likely your workout/physical activity!

All the best,

Shannon

Training Tuesday (8/31/10)

2010-08-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Training Tuesday #1

First of all let me apologize for missing the first post for Meal Mondays, I became overwhelmed with work and school that I did not get a chance to post a recipe for you guys. I will try to make up for it next week with something really great. For now, check out this delicious stuffed bell pepper recipe Here. Definitely one of my favorites and you can change it up anyway you like!

Alright so let's jump into training Tuesdays. My goal for each Tuesday post is to present you guys with a new routine or exercise that you may or may not have heard of yet. Since we are still on the topic of being specific, many of these routines I present may really seem out of the ordinary or pretty interesting.

This is important as it keeps the working out scene fresh and not cluttered with the same old "bench press" ideology.

So for this post I will be talking about a great workout for your forearms. This one involves getting some type of small bar or "short pole" and attaching a small nylon rope to it to where you can roll the rope around it. (If you can makeshift one you can always order one if you would like, they are known as "wrist rollers" and can be purchased here)

They key here is to add some weight at the end of this rope and let it hang down. With your arms fully extended straight out in front of you, your goal is to use only your forearms and wrist to twist the bar/pole around until the rope has completely wrapped around and the weight has come up. Slowly lower it back down and repeat.

This workout may seem silly but trust me, after a few repetitions of this your forearms will be burning in no time. Try doing 3 sets of 8 to start (one up and down is a rep), increase or decrease accordingly.

People oftentimes neglect certain areas of the body such as the forearms. A simple exercise like this though thrown into any routine can really balance things out!

Good luck!

Shannon

Fitness Friday (8/27/2010)

2010-08-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

First Post for Fitness Friday

Well unfortunately, I was unable to post for Thursday due to conflicts in my schedule but I will make up for it here with my Friday post.

I'm thinking fitness Friday is an appropriate title for this day, as this and future posts will be a general rounding up of the week when pertaining to the ideas discussed over the previous days.

Now obviously this will be a bit difficult on this post, as we have yet to do our other days but it will all be in good time. So I figured to start this one off we could at least discuss the importance of planning out a good weekend while still remaining physically sound.

To me, if you take physically fitness (or anything for that matter) TOO seriously then you wind up disliking it and often times "rebelling" against it. I see this happen far too often with many people, especially when the weekend rolls around.

I generally see one of two things coming from someone who is regularly active as the weekend approaches.

-One, the person is so convinced that they do so much physical activity and eat healthy that the weekend is a complete free pass to do anything and everything for two to three days straight and then get back into the rhythm on Monday.

-Two, the person is so wrapped up in the fitness lifestyle that the weekends are a mere two days that allow for more time to be in the gym, eating healthy, etc. thus missing out on having any sort of life outside of the fitness one they know.

As with anything, the happy medium must be met between these two extremes. Do you have to find it? Well, no of course not. You may be perfectly happy with doing one of the above and I'm not one to say otherwise.

However, looking at the normal person he/she would likely do much better finding that central balance.

For example, many physically sound people often discount fast food and look upon it as if it should top the list of the worst sins that can be committed. However, everything in moderation is actually what we should all be leaning towards.

I myself used to use a method somewhere along these lines: I would eat correctly and healthy for the week, and allow myself a fast food outing perhaps once a week. Yes I know, we are stepping into the "cheat meal" territory but I myself hate that term.

Cheat meal? To me this makes working out and staying physically fit sound like an exam that nobody wants to take which makes the idea of fitness THAT much less appealing.

Anyway, this is a more general post (you can expect them to be more specific next week) to get things rolling but there is more to come.

I will have recipes, routines, and much more starting next week so please stick around!

Have a good weekend!

-Shannon

New "Specific" Ideas

2010-08-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

Time to Follow My Own Advice

So I have recently been posting and talking about the importance of being specific when it comes to not only physical fitness, but living everyday life. Well I think it is time that I practice what I preach.

I have a few new ideas that I will try out for this blog in hopes that I can reach a larger audience as well as present more information that is more easily accessible.

My thought process is this: people love organization and things broken up into bite sized pieces when it comes to almost anything. With this idea in mind I figured that I should apply this concept to this blog about specific fitness.

From here on out I will post a different style post everyday that is - you guessed it - specific to whichever day of the week it is.

For example: I might do "Meal Mondays" or "Fitness Fridays", etc. By doing this hopefully overtime people will catch on and have a place that they can go to every day to get a new tidbit of information or perhaps a new delicious recipe.

With all of this in mind I truly hope that by narrowing down the contents of this blog to be more specifically catered to everyone, I will be able to really reach out and provide some content that anyone can enjoy.

Cheers!

Shannon

Just Dropping By

2010-08-05T22:59:00.001-07:00

Just A Quick Hello

Hey everyone, just wanted to stop by really quick to share some thoughts and see how everything is going.

I know that right now the information I present is may seem minimal but getting such a broad spectrum of information across to the masses takes much time and effort.

I truly hope that over time more and more information, reviews, products, and more can be placed here for you guys to take a look at and enjoy. As always it is hard maintaining a blog and getting the right type of traffic to those you want to get your information out to. So if you guys ever have any ideas or comments please don't hesitate to contact me anytime!

I always check my email so if anyone has any questions related to fitness, this blog, or anything for that matter I would be more than happy to chat with you!

Have a great day!

Shannon

Staying Motivated

2010-08-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

How Being Specific Can Keep You On Track

As we have been talking about before the importance of specific fitness spans all areas of the physical fitness spectrum. This is important to understand because knowing how to apply this knowledge to a broader range of ideas and actions increases physical fitness success.

What is the one thing you have always been taught about reaching your goals? Take your ultimate (or larger goal) and break it down into smaller, more manageable goals until you reach your destination. This same concept can be applied here as well.

For example: You want to become the better soccer player that we have been discussing. Well what does that mean? Take a minute and really think about that. "Be a better soccer player." That statement in and of itself literally could mean ANYTHING.

This is where being specific comes into play. Take that statement and break it down into perhaps 3 to 5 more manageable details. For instance, I want to have more stamina, kick further, and run faster. Only after you have established these principles can you work toward each one individually.

The beauty of all this is the fact that often times when pertaining to fitness (and specificity of fitness) you will find that one goal you are working towards overlaps with another. So let's say you try to increase your speed. Well naturally you will get faster, likely have stronger legs (that lead to further kicking), and probably more stamina.

You just tackled the three goals without truly realizing it or over thinking it! This is why I stress the importance of being specific in almost anything you do.

Have a great one!

Shannon

What Does Specific Fitness Mean to You?

2010-07-28T11:13:00.001-07:00

Fitness Specific to YOU

So we have been talking about how everyone's view of fitness is different but I really want to know, well, more specifically what fitness means to you.

Does it mean being ripped, lean, fast, strong, skinny, average, active? Or all of the above? These are the aspects that need to be looked at when attaining that level of fitness specific to an individual.

I took a survey of 50 random college students (male and female) to find out what fitness meant to them. It was no surprise that the results were pretty close to what I expected.

Of all the males surveyed (34 males) 73.5% of them said fitness or being fit was being "ripped". Now is this true for all guys? Obviously not, because the other 26.5% had a different idea of what fitness was all about.

Same rule applied with the 16 girls surveyed on in the opposite direction. 94% determined their level of specific fitness was being lean and slender. While only 6% had thoughts otherwise.

The important thing to remember here is the fact that this was a survey of only 50 college students. When the sample size is larger you can only imagine the variety of answers you would receive.

My point is this, whether you are physically active already or thinking about become physically active now or in the future, always make sure you are aiming towards a fitness goal that is specific to you and your needs.

- Shannon

Fitness for Everyone

2010-07-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

Specific Fitness: Something for Everyone

If asked, "what does fitness mean to you?", the variety of answers received would be quite large to say the least.

This is because fitness is specific (hence the name: Specific Fitness) to each individual and can not effectively be grouped into categories.

Yeah sure you've got your powerlifters, marathon runners, bodybuilders, etc. but even within each of those groups lies concepts and methods specific to each person working toward their own "idea" of what fitness means to them.

The easiest way to narrow down what specific fitness concept you are related to is to simply step back and ask yourself, "What do I really want to achieve or how would I like to use the results of my efforts?".

For example, do you really want to get better at playing soccer? Do you think to yourself, "I know if I had more stamina I could easily keep up with the other team." Just by thinking of that very simple idea you have almost instantly narrowed down what type of fitness is specific to you. You most likely should be focusing on cardio to become lean and build more stamina.

Now I understand it isn't always this straightforward, many times people want to have their cake and eat it too. For example, perhaps the person in the soccer example above wants to build the stamina but doesn't want to lose the muscle? What does he do?

The good thing about this situation is that there is always an option that is, again, fitness specific to cater to each individual.

It is my hopes that I will be able to update more on how attaining a level of fitness that is specific to you is really what everyone should be striving for when pertaining to this topic. I will try to periodically point you in the right direction for methods and whatnot that I truly think can prove to be beneficial.

If you have any suggestions or would just like to comment, feel free to anytime.

Cheers,

Shannon