Tag Archive for deadlifts

Recap: The Fitness Summit 2016

An incredible weekend of learning and shenanigans has come to a close and I can’t wait until I have the energy to start processing it all (because I think I slept a combined 7 hours in 3 days -_-).

Thursday night, my friend and I flew out to Kansas City to attend The Fitness Summit. I’d never been before, but have heard great things about it. I have been craving some new learning experiences and since this meant I also got to travel to another city, this seemed like the perfect event.

Some of the presenters I was very familiar with and some were brand new. I walked away with a new perspective, tons of new information that I can apply to training my own clients, and new friends. Here are some of the recaps:

Tony Gentilcore

…went over the Deadlift. This was one of the presentations I was most looking forward to, since deadlifts are one of my favorite exercises. He not only went over technique and deciphering the type of deadlift that a client should perform based on where they are at physically, but also showed us some really awesome practical modifications to get clients to reign in their form and get their bodies to learn the proper patterns of the deadlift. I easily have 5-7 new deadlift modifications in my toolbox and I can’t wait to use them with my clients.

This article highlights most of the “hip hinge badassery” as Tony calls it.

TonyGentilcoreHipHinge copy

Source: Tony Gentilcore

Why this was so helpful: The deadlift is such a great movement because of the recruitment of so many muscle groups. Because of this, many people have a hard time following all of the cues and maintaining proper form such as pulling the hips back, engaging your glutes/hamstrings/lats, keeping your chest out, neutral spine, and the list goes on. I personally have 2-3 clients that have an extremely hard time with this and it limits our training a bit. I am 99.9% sure that with some of the exercises Tony went over, I’ll have these clients deadlifting with proper form very soon.

Nick Tumminello

…discussed single leg movements and this was a pretty interesting topic. We practiced several of the movements that he went over and while the actual movements weren’t necessarily new to me, some of the positioning was different. It was interesting to perform these single-leg movements (such as reverse lunges and step-ups) in different positions to recruit more of the glutes or to put a higher load on the actual working leg based on the rest of your body positioning. I also added some new-to-me single leg exercises that I can add to my arsenal.

This article goes over some of those movements.

nicktumminello1

Source: Nick Tumminello

Why this was so helpful: As a trainer, the basics will always be the majority of what I’ll focus on with my clients. However, depending on the type of client (and especially the athletes), there are some single leg exercises that just do a better job at certain things. The more tools in my tool box, the better equipped I’ll be with my clients and their needs.

Bret Contreras

…talked about squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts. While I’m pretty familiar with Bret’s style and have a slight bias considering I’ve learned a good portion of what I know from him, it was still a good refresher and I always learn something new from him. I think the biggest take away from this particular presentation was not being afraid to adapt. We’d all like to have optimal squat and deadlift form, but that isn’t always possible. We have to be able to adapt to what works best for the individual, even if it is outside of the “normal” technical recommendations. The main focus should be safety and as long as a client isn’t being injured, it’s okay to be less-than-perfect.

bret

Source: Bret Contreras

Why this was so helpful: I think as trainers, we get it in our heads that everything needs to be perfect at all times or else it is to be avoided. While I think striving for that perfect form is where we all should be thinking, accepting that that isn’t always plausible is also really crucial and making adjustments that will get the job done without injury is an option.

Last but not least,

Alan Aragon.

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, then you saw that he is my new #braincrush. Not only is he a brilliant guy, his delivery of information is incredibly sound. He gives real-world advice and leaves out the fluffy bullshit. I think I speak for most people at the conference when I say that he left all of us inspired and ready to take on the world. His tips and tools for pursuing your own career in the fitness business were really insightful and I think he touched on all of the “fear” aspects that many (if not all) of us have.

alanaragon

Source: Alan Aragon

Why this was so helpful: I’m often crippled by fear and have often felt like the only one. Alan’s advice was to find the things you love in the industry and build your business around them. Not only that, but he provided some tools to figure out what those areas might be for people like me who aren’t 100% sure what that “dream job” looks like. Fear is present in almost every single entrepreneur’s venture at some point, but his best advice to move past that is to just DO IT ANYWAYS. You da man Alan.

(Also, he’s really freaking smart, so you should go look through his articles too.)

There were several other speakers that gave really great presentations and I think it’s safe to say that there was really something for everyone there. From the fitness enthusiast to the personal trainer to the nutritionist to the fitness business tycoon, there was plenty of good information in all realms of the fitness industry. I will definitely be back next year!

The Location

It’d be a tragedy if I also didn’t mention the amazing gym that the conference was held at, Impact Elite Gym in Kansas City. This gym had everything you could ever need/want (except a hip thruster) and had tons of space to do it. The “feel” of the gym was hardcore/oldschool and the bar at the front desk where they made protein shakes, pancakes (!!!!), and had all kinds of drinks and snacks was bar none.

As busy as we were, I obviously couldn’t leave without getting a workout in.

Here’s what I did:

-Good Mornings + Squats: 45×10, 75×10, 95×5

-Back Squats: 145x10T (got all 10 reps in 1 set)

10 min. AMRAP

-RDL’s: 145×10

-Squat Jumps: bwx10

I did 6 rounds in 9:36 and called it. It’s barely 24 hours later as I’m writing this and my glutes and hamstrings are already sore.

-Leg Press: 140×10, 180×10, 230×10, 270×10, 320×10, 320×15, 320×5

EMOM – 10 min.

-Kettle Bell Swings: 70×6

This workout kicked my ass and I ended up having to go back to the hotel to shower afterwards. Totally worth it though!

Time to go read, write, learn and GSD(get shit done)!!!

 

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap {Pictures & Videos!}

Happy Monday AND December 1st! This is the best kind of Monday, the start of a new month! How many of you set some goals for the month already??? I definitely did! While I don’t ever think waiting for a Monday or 1st of the month is necessary, it sure makes it more fun for my OCD brain. 😀

Ah, this past week/weekend was quite busy and enjoyable! We drove into emmawatson-fans on Tuesday night and didn’t get in until about 2am. LA traffic is no joke. Our little guy did great on the road trip, though and at one point, even offered to drive.

oscardriveWednesday, I headed to an old friend’s house to get a workout in. Bret was the person that got me into lifting weights, so I had to revisit the past and train with him while I was home!

I hit some MAJOR PR’s while I was there!

275 lb Hip Thrust for 3 reps

215 lb Deadlift for 1 rep

I haven’t even come close to those weights before so I was beyond stoked! It was a great way to start out my trip!

Thanksgiving morning, Charlie, Oscar and I headed out to the park for a family workout. We did:

Turkey Leg Workout: 5 Rounds

  • 10 Push Ups
  • 15 Lemon Squeezers (or you could do sit ups)
  • 15 Squats
  • 100 yd. Sprint

Oscar did all the sprints with us! He was tired out by the end (and so were we!).

oscarparkOur Thanksgiving meal was delicious, and so were the desserts. Since we had extended our No Added Sugar challenge, this was the FIRST TIME we had sugar in 37 days!!!

The verdict? We both felt super sick and decided that we will try to stay away from sugar as much as possible. We will still have treats here and there, but the way we both have felt while OFF the sugar is sooooo much better than how we felt ON sugar. We definitely won’t be going back to any old habits.

Friday was a fun day that revolved around…DOGS. We started the day by taking Oscar to the dog park. We have so much fun watching him play with the other dogs! Afterwards, we headed to my mom’s house so that Oscar could meet my furry brother, Knuckles.

oscarknucklesThey loved eachother. Knuckles was so tolerant of Oscar’s puppy antics. We took them both on walks and hung around for most of the day.

Saturday was my nephew Matty’s 2nd birthday! He has gotten SOO big. He is truly a little boy now. It was fun to watch him play around with the other kids. His excitement when the cake was brought out might have also been the cutest thing ever. He was SOOOO EXCITED.

sanchezfamMy sister’s little family (soon to be 4 of them!)

After the party, we were all pretty exhausted, so we hopped in the car and started the long trek back to LA.

oscarsleepOverall, this was such a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family! I love being able to spend time with them and got a much needed break. Now I’m ready to tackle the new month with a clear, fresh mind!

P.S. I’ll be releasing more information about my FREE E-BOOK, The 10 DAY SEXY SLIMDOWN, this week! Stay tuned! If you can’t wait, you can subscribe to my newsletter on the top left of this page. 🙂

Question of the Day

1. What was the highlight of your holiday?

 

 

Ramblings, Workouts, and EXPLODING KOMBUCHA!

Wowza! What a day.

This morning, I woke up at 5am wide eyed and bushy tailed. Okay, maybe not like that, but I definitely was awake and there wasn’t a chance of falling back asleep. That doesn’t usually happen to me, but it was a good day for that to be the case. I had a ton of work to do and ended up knocking most of it out before noon! Woohoo! Might have to do that more often. (or maybe not…)

 

Okay, I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but I seem to have a Kombucha problem. This is my all time favorite flavor,

S_Trilogy

But EVERY time I open a Kombucha, it explodes everywhere and I spend the first 10 minutes cleaning up and waiting for it to stop fizzing.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?! I see others grab their Kombucha and open it gracefully without a drop spilled…..why am I Kombucha cursed??? (seriously….any ideas?? lol)

Workouts

I did a very different leg workout than I’m used to yesterday and I’m pretty sore from it. I’ve been focusing on heavy weights, low reps for the last few months and decided to completely change it up yesterday. I did high reps, lower weight, and circuit style. It was a fun way to change it up. Here are some of the exercises I did:

KB Goblet Squats w/ Explosive Rotation (yep, I’ll do a video for that one!)

Lying Hamstring Curls

Straight Leg Deadlifts (feet together)

Sumo Squats

Side Lunge/Jump Side Lunge combo

I definitely felt this one and it worked up a good sweat.

Tonight I’m heading to Iron Boxing again. I’m a bit sore from my leg day yesterday, so it could get interesting! I’m also curious to see how my less-than-stellar night of sleep will affect things. Oh well…I’ve got a fun weekend coming up, so I’m sure I’ll have some time to relax!

The Weekend

Tomorrow, Charlie and I are heading to Phoenix to hang with my little brother for his birthday. I’m excited to see him and the rest of the fam. Especially my cute ever-growing nephew. He melts my heart and cracks me up!

Seriously?! Look at him!!!
<3

Questions of the Day:

Do you have any tips for NON-EXPLODING KOMBUCHA?

Do you prefer to do low weight, high reps OR high weight, low reps when you’re working out?

 

Weekend, Filming, Workouts, Pawn Shops!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Mine was pretty low-key, but I think that was much-needed after Friday’s long day.

Friday was the 2nd filming day for the WBBC At-Home Fitness Program! We were in the sun for about 6.5 hours, did 4 workouts, and lots of other speaking footage. It was a ton of fun, but a ton of work, too! If you’re interested in the program, you can click this link to get on our waiting list. 😉

I’m a total doophus and forgot to wear sunscreen.

Ouch.

Ouch.

(Funny story about that “Kiss Me” balloon….it’s from Valentine’s day!! Charlie and I are trying to see how long it will stay inflated. Best.balloon investment.ever, if you ask me.)

The camera man and I have some very funny farmer’s tans going on!

His and Hers Sunburns

His and Hers Sunburns

I’m not trying to make light of these sunburns. It’s obviously extremely dangerous, but we were just so frazzled in the morning that we both forgot sunscreen. :-/ Live and learn.

Here are some shots from the filming:

Lizzy and Anna

Lizzy and Anna

 

Lunge

Lunge

 

Perfect Stretch

Perfect Stretch

Anyways, I’m really excited for this to come out!

After filming and working out in the sun all day, we were STARVING. We found an AWESOME little Hawaiian burger shack nearby called, Shaka Shack Burgers. AMAZING. The sweet potato fries were probably the best I’ve ever heard. SUPER GREASY and DELICIOUS haha. I ordered the Turkey Burger and it was pretty awesome too.

Saturday

Charlie and I always talk about going to pawn shops to see if we can luck out with some smokin’ deals. It’s much more difficult these days since you can find out what everything is worth on the internet. We finally decided that this was the day we would actually go look!

We drove to Hollywood and went to a few different pawn shops. There was definitely some interesting stuff in them, but ultimately, we walked away empty handed. We ALMOST got a really killer deal on a vintage microphone, but alas, it didn’t work. Womp, womp.

We finished around 4:30pm and decided to go to the Arclight to see Neighbors.

Neighbors_(2013)_PosterThis movie definitely had some hilarious moments, but overall, I’d give it a 7. Probably best to wait for it to come out on DVD, which nowadays should be about 2 weeks! Haha. (Remember when you used to have to wait MONTHS AND MONTHS for a movie to come out just for RENTAL….buying it was like a year. Crazy how times have changed.)

We finished off the night by making dinner, baking cookies (YUM) and watching Dexter.

Sunday

I woke up earlier than Charlie and started cleaning the house. Eventually he joined me and then we headed to the gym for a workout. We did the following supersets (weights/reps are mine…Charlie is stronger than me and did more weight plus higher box jumps):

Superset #1:

4 Sets of

-Medicine Ball Thrusters (16 lb ball x 15 reps)

-DB Push Ups w/ Rotation (10 lb DBs x 8 reps)

Superset #2:

4 Sets of

Heavy Deadlifts (139 lbs x 10 reps)

Burpee-Pull Ups (bw x 5 reps)

Superset #3:

2 Sets of

DB Shoulder Press (25lb DBs x 8 reps)

Box Jumps (24 inc. x 10 reps)

 

Charlie also helped me work on my form for box jumps. I was doing the 24 inch box, which I’ve done many times before, but my form wasn’t great. With the tips he gave me, I’m ready to tackle the tall 30 inch box. Just need to get some cajones, that’s all!

Some fun slo-mo videos of us!

That’s all I’ve got today! I’ll be back tomorrow morning with my workout plans for the week!

 

Have you ever been to a pawn shop?

Ever found a REALLY cool steal while at a pawn shop?

 

 

Workouts & Listening To My Body

Good morning! I hope you’re all having a wonderful week! We’re more than half way through, and the weekend is coming shortly!

Animals-Eating-Pizza-11

This week has been a whirlwind! I took yesterday pretty easy because my body was exhausted and a bit sore.

Here’s a recap of my workouts so far this week:

On Monday, I did a 15 minute HIIT workout in the early part of the day. It was nice to get that out of the way. It may only be 15 minutes, but it gets you SWEATIN’!!! In the afternoon, I did a heavy lifting session.

For my heavy lifting sessions, I typically like to do a set of: 15, 12, 10, 8, 6. Basically, I combine my warm-up (15 and 12 rep sets) and my heavy sets (10, 8, 6 rep sets). This helps me get into the lift and get my muscles ready for the heavier weights. I did:

Deadlifts

Squats

Chin Ups

DB Military Press

Pull Ups

For the chin ups and pull ups, I just do sets of 2-3. That’s about where I’m at strength-wise right now, so I just work on trying to get just 1 more rep in the beginning of the workout. (Hoping to get 5 reps by the end of the week!!!)

After my lift, I headed to the rock climbing gym for some climbing. They are doing construction on the bouldering area  right now, so I actually harnessed in and climbed the walls with the rope. I forgot how long you’re on the wall! Holy endurance!!! My forearms are a bit sore from that.

Tuesday evening, Charlie and I headed to the gym for a full body workout. I was pretty sore from Monday, but when Charlie wants to work out, I take advantage! I snuck in a 15 min. HIIT before the workout as well. We did the following supersets:

Super Set #1

DB Bench Press + Chest Fly

KB Swings

Super Set #2

Front Foot Elevated Reverse Lunges

Hanging Leg Raises

Super Set #3

DB Windmills

Swiss Ball Dead Bugs

Needless to say, my body is a bit exhausted. I took yesterday to relax, walk a bit to stretch my legs, catch up on some writing, and worked. I like to stay moving when I’m sore to try to get the blood flowing, hence the short walks throughout the day. Stretching, walking, light moving in general, tend to help with DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

I think it is very important to listen to your body. While I had a CrossFit workout on my agenda for Wednesday, I knew that my body needed a little break. I pushed the workout until today at lunch and hopefully resting yesterday will give me some energy and muscle recovery for it today.

Question of the day:

What do you do when you have a tough workout planned and your body just ain’t havin’ it?!

I just started watching Dexter. OMG Where have I been?! Any other awesome shows I’m TOTALLY missing out on?!

Weekend Things

We made it people. It’s Friday, and the weekend starts….NOW. Well, not really for me. I have to work a bit this weekend, but I like what I do, so it’s not all that bad. I started my day with this new-to-me flavor of Fage. I’m a fan!!

fage

Workout

Yesterday’s workout was a heavy lift with some plyometrics sprinkled in. The plyometrics were an after-thought, but I’m glad I did them. The workout ended up being pretty tough, but fun.

Superset #1 – 4 Sets

Barbell Squats: 75 x 15, 95 x 10, 105 x 8, 115 x 6

Squat Jumps: bw x 10, bw x 10, bw x 10, bw x 10 

Superset #2 – 3 Sets

T-Bar Row: 35 x 12, 35 x 12, 45 x 8

Chin Ups: bw x 2, bw x 2, bw x 2

Then: (done separately)

Dumbbell Reverse Lunges: 15 x 15, 20 x 10, 25 x 8, 30 x 6

Barbell Bench Press: 65 x 12, 65 x 12, 65 x 12, 65 x 12

It was a great workout and I’m definitely sore today! It feels good. I’m working on squatting heavier. Squats are my weakest leg lift. My guru and very first personal trainer, Bret Contreras, told me that since I have long femurs, it’s very common to be able to do heavy deadlifts and hip thrusts but be weaker on squats. Just have to keep working at it!

Last night I made my favorite Chicken dish. I finally took some photos of the process too! Sorry for the crappy iPhone photos. Someday I’ll use the real big-boy camera and take some better ones.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with how I combat boredom at the airport…..:-D

Practicing Yoga...err something..

Practicing Yoga…err something..

In case you were wondering...

In case you were wondering…

I’m a child.

1. What is your favorite exercise?

2. Where is your favorite place to travel?

Simple Teriyaki Chicken

Hello friendssss! Last night’s workout was quite sluggish if you ask me. I actually had a good amount of energy, but my body was just worn out. I think the bouldering session on Monday night did me in!

Even so I was able to eke out this workout (and selfie haha):

Chest/Legs Supersets!

Chest/Legs Supersets!

 

Try it if you’d like! It moves pretty quickly! (Always check with a doctor before starting any new fitness routine.)

When I left the gym, I stopped at the store to try to figure out what to make for dinner. I didn’t want something that took a long time, but knew chicken needed to be involved. (I love chicken!)

After some back and forth texts with the boyfriend, we agreed on Teriyaki Chicken. It turned out SO well and was so easy to make that I just had to share!

Simple Teriyaki Chicken

Serves: 2-3 people

Ingredients:

-2 Chicken Breasts

-Veggies of your choice (I cheated and picked up an asian stop-diabetes-meds.com from the produce aisle)

Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce

-Brown Rice (as much as you’d like)

-Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (to taste)

Kikkoman Low Sodium Soy Sauce

Directions: 

-Cut up the chicken breasts into cubes and marinate in Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce for about 15-20 minutes

-Spray a frying pan with your choice of oil and cook the chicken on low until it’s done (about 10 minutes). Add red pepper flakes!

-While the chicken is cooking, fill a pot with water and add brown rice (2:1 ratio). Cook until rice is soft and water has been absorbed (about 10 minutes)

-When the chicken is almost done, throw the veggies into a separate frying pan with a little bit of soy sauce and cook until they start to brown.

-Fill a bowl or plate and enjoy!

This recipe was so easy and it was really freakin’ delicious!!! Let me know if you try it out!

Do you have really simple chicken recipes? If so, send me the links!!! I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken. 🙂

My Top 5 Exercises

Hey friends!

It’s been a whirlwind of a week over here. I definitely wore myself out both physically, and mentally. Work has been pretty crazy and all over the place, and I’ve been kicking butt in the fitness department. Between running, rock climbing, hiking, plyometrics, HIIT, and heavy lifting, I’ve literally  been doing it all. Next week I am even planning on taking an adult gymnastics class, so stay tuned for a recap of that! For now, I’m battling a little cold, but hoping I will heal myself by creating cocktails like this:

sickness cocktail

and drinking lots of fluids.

The Core 5 Exercises 

With all of the different types of exercises out there, things can get pretty confusing. There are so many different movements and ways to perform those movements, that sometimes it can make your head spin. Of course, you can target your muscles in many different ways, but there are some basics that I believe are what build your foundation. Not only are they functional exercises, but they are strength building and work your entire body simultaneously. If you master these, consider yourself a master of strength. 😀

1. Push Ups

We all know what a push up is, but are you doing them properly? When done correctly, the pushup will work your pecs (chest), deltoids (shoulders), abs, and triceps, but even your legs, glutes, and lats must work as stabilizers in order to do a push up correctly.

Modification: Start from your knees until you build up strength to do a proper push-up. The same flat-back form and movement should be kept.

2. Pull Ups

I have a love/hate relationship with pull ups. They are such a GREAT exercise, but take a lot of work to become good at. There is really only one way to get better (and do more) pull ups, and that is to…wait for it…DO PULL UPS. But you may ask, how do I work on pull ups if I can’t do a single one?! Well, there are several modifications that help you practice the movement until your strength is built up enough to do pull ups on your own. Here are a few options:

Options #1: Band Pull Ups – both legs

band pull upOption #2: Band Pull Ups – one knee in (same as above, but using only 1 knee in the band)

Option #3: Band Pull Ups – one foot in, straight leg (instead of your knee on the band, you put your foot on it. Both legs stay straight)

3. Back Squats

The back squat is definitely an important exercise for everyone to learn and practice. I always tell people the best ab exercises I know of are squats and deadlifts. Like the push up, this is a full body exercise. Your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and abs are all working very hard during this exercise. Your back is used as a stabilizer as well. The proper back squat involves a nice athletic stance, with your chest out, shoulders back, flat back, and abs pulled in through your belly button. Here is a video by my good friend (and my first trainer! He taught me all of these moves back in 2007) Bret Contreras. The video talks about proper form, problems, and corrections. It is well worth watching!

4. Deadlifts

Probably my favorite exercise of all time. There are several different types of deadlifts, but for our purposes, I am speaking of the Conventional Deadlift. Unlike the squat, the deadlift is a hinge at the hips. This exercise works your glutes, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, and abs. It is another exercise that requires a lot of attention to form, as not to injure yourself. Learning your form on this exercise is the first priority before adding weight. Once again, I’ll let Bret take this one:

5. The Hip Thrust

Back in 2007, I learned about the hip thrust first hand from, of course, Bret Contreras. In his small Scottsdale gym that I trained with him at, I was introduced to this move and forever fell in love. With the exercise, not Bret. The hip thrust is absolutely the best glute exercise out there. It is a power movement that uses SO many muscles and truly targets the glutes in a way that squats and deadlifts just don’t do (not to take away from them, just a different reaction from the muscles). I am posting another one of Bret’s videos, as he is one of the first people to spread the word and research this amazing exercise in depth.

Side note: Bret is now selling the Hip Thruster machine! (you better believe I’m talking my gym into getting one.)

So there you have it folks. I can guarantee that if you master and practice these 5 moves, you truly need nothing else. Of course, you can always supplement with other exercises and focus on speed, power, or strength (which will all give you a different way to use these moves), but these are staples. Learn them, practice them, and watch your fitness level take strides.

– What is your favorite exercise?

– Do you practice any of these exercises regularly? If so, which is your favorite/least favorite?