July, 2010

Sport Performance — Comments Off
27
Jul 10

Kiteboarding: Dry Land Training Workout

A typical summer afternoon in San Francisco Bay (Alcatraz in the background)

Summer is here, although it doesn’t always feel like it in the foggy San Francisco Bay Area.  Here in the Bay area, it is not uncommon to see dozens of kite boarders braving the chilly waters after work when the wind is just right. 

We sat down with former intern Lucas, design genius by day and avid kite boarding athlete by afternoon, and got a few pointers on how to prepare the body for this exciting sport.

The following dry land training workout will train the muscles active in the most common kiteboarding positions:  

-          Heel side riding position – stability and muscular endurance in legs (quads, glutes)

-          In harness – stability in lean (core, back)

-          Steering – pull and push control (upper back and shoulders, chest)

This circuit calls for very short rest periods between moves to keep your heart rate in an aerobic state for the entire workout.  Perform each exercise as recommended in the progression below.  After you have completed one set of every exercise, take a one minute rest.  Repeat the circuit three times.

Equipment needed:  Perfect Pushup and Perfect Pullup

Move 1:  Perfect Pushup with static hold at top
How: Perform a regular position Perfect Pushup.  At the top of the move, hold for 5 sec.
Muscles targeted: chest, shoulders, arms, core
Reps: 10-15

Move 2:  Hanging knee ups
How: Hang from a pullup bar and position legs at the same width they would be in your bindings.  Draw knees up toward chest.  Squeeze abs at the top of the move.
Muscles targeted: core, forearms (grip strength)
Reps: 15-20
To further activate obliques, rotate hips (legs still binding-width apart) toward center of doorway as you bring knees up.  Alternate sides. 

Move 3:  Assisted squat
How: Bring Perfect Pullup bar down to hip level.  Hold onto the bar for assistance as you squat so your thighs form a 90° angle with the ground.  From this starting position, hold for 10 sec then perform 10 squats, only going half-way down. 
Muscles targeted: quads, glutes
Reps: 3 x (10 sec hold + 10 half-squats)

Move 4:  Standing row
How: Using the Perfect Pullup in the down position, place feet against door frame.  Keeping your elbows close to your body, pull from your back and perform a standing row.
Muscles targeted: biceps, back, shoulders
Reps: 15-20

Move 5:  Inchworm
How: Using the Perfect Pushup, start with hips in the air, in a pike position.  Slowly walk your feet backward, “inching” down into a plank.  Return to starting position.  “Inch” back down, this time to the right.  Return to start, then repeat to the left.  This is one rep.
Muscles targeted: lats, core, chest
Reps: 3 x (1 straight back/1 right/1 left)
Added modification: rest feet on top of a gliding disc
Alternative: Pilates pushup

Keep moving and have a great time this summer exercising outdoors.

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19
Jul 10

Take It Outside

Find somewhere outdoors where you can do pullups

Here in the Bay Area (where Perfect Fitness HQ is located), we’ve been plagued with some extended “June and July Gloom” this summer.  But the mercury is finally starting to rise and in celebration of hotter days to come, we are taking our workouts outside this week. 

Find a park or other public place equipped with a chin-up bar and a bench, grab some running shoes, and you are on your way.

Equipment: 

  • Chin up bar
  • Park bench
  • Recommended: watch or timer

Start with a 10-minute jog to warm up.  Ideally, if the park is located within 10 minutes of your house, you can jog there and back. 

Perform the following sequence of movements 2-3 times. If needed, perform some easy squats, shoulder rolls, and other dynamic stretches to loosen up any tight body parts before beginning. 

1. Pull-up – as many as you can in 30 seconds 

*if you struggle to complete one pull-up, perform negative pull-ups instead, or find a low bar (parallel bars work great) and perform Australian pull-ups. 

2. Step ups – using park bench or other sturdy object, step up explosively, slowly and controlled step back down and repeat for 30 seconds on each leg (total: 1 min) 

 

3. Hanging knee raise – Hang onto chin up bar and activate core by pulling navel into spine. Perform as many continuous knee raises as possible with good form (no swinging), up to 15 repetitions. 

4. Side travelling push-up: perform a regular pushup. At the top of the movement, walk right arm and right foot to the right, left side following. Perform another pushup then walk to the left. Repeat walking to each side 10-12 times. 

5. Sprint/jog – find a lawn or other area where you can run for 100M straight. Sprint for 10 seconds out, then jog back to start. Repeat six times. 

Cool down jog for 10 minutes.

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12
Jul 10

The Sweat-in-10 Workout

This is one of our favorite short (but intense) workouts so we are featuring it again!  Don’t be intimidated if it seems TOO intense–you can always modify the movements to suit your fitness level.  Just remember to push yourself for the whole 10 minutes.  You’ll feel so good after!

The Sweat-in-10 Workout
This week, try swapping one of your hour long battles in the gym with this ten minute workout, designed to have you break a sweat and work your entire body in less time than two commercial breaks on TV.

Instructions: Make sure your body is warmed up before starting. Try to perform the following sequence of movements, without stopping, two times in ten minutes. As always, listen to your body; if you feel you are not getting enough oxygen or are compromising your form, take rests as needed.
Equipment:

  • Perfect Pullup (or chin-up bar)
  • Watch or stopwatch

*Optional – Perfect Pushup

1. Pushup – complete 8 pushups, rotation optional. After the 8th pushup, hold in the down position for 8 counts. Make sure to keep breathing through the hold.  Repeat pattern one minute.

Hold in down position

  

 

2. High knees – from a standing position, Lift knees as high toward chest as possible while running in place as fast as you can for one minute.

3. Narrow chin-up –position hands slightly narrower than shoulder width. If you are using Perfect Pullup, face palms toward each other to start and rotate palms inward to face your body in the up position; if using chin-up bar, hold hands in chin-up position. Complete as many pull-ups as you can in 45 seconds, then rest for 15 seconds.

4. 8 count body-builder – Lower hands to regular push up position. Kick both legs out to push up position. Conduct one pushup. Open legs shoulder width in a single motion. Close legs in a single motion. Use abdominals to pull both knees up to hands. Repeat for one minute.



5. Side plank – lie on your left side with left elbow directly under left shoulder, legs extended. Lift body off ground, forming a straight line from head to feet. Hold position 30-seconds. Repeat on right side.

Rest for 30 seconds, then repeat sequence. For an added challenge, try the 10-minute workout twice over the course of one day.

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