Notes for a Simple Cardio Workout.

If you want to get a good, fast cardio workout done, you don't have to have expensive exercise equipment or even have lots of space to exercise.

 

You can do a fast cardio workout in your own living room or backyard.

 

Instead of doing traditional cardio exercises, try doing some bodyweight exercises instead.

 

 

For example you could do this...

 

After a completing a 5 minute dynamic warm up, do the following exercises in succession taking rest breaks as needed. Do as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes.

 

• Squat Jumps x 20
• Mountain Climbers x 50
• Jump Rope x 100
• Running on the spot x 50
• Burpees x 10
• Jumping Jacks x 30

Once you are done do 5 minutes of stretching and you are finished! Easy as that. A hard and fast cardio workout done in only 20 minutes without leaving home.

 

 

Core and upper body stability exercises

Today I just wanted to show you an awesome core and upper body stability exercise that you can adding to your workouts.

 

This exercise goes great as part of your dynamic warmup or even as an add-on to a strength superset. 

 

The exercise is called an Up-Down Plank and there are 3 variations you can try based on the equipment you have available.

 

 

Variation #1 - no equipment

 

The Up Down Plank is great for building core stability (anti-extension) and also shoulder stability.

 

• Start in a plank position on the ground with your core braced
• Press up on to one hand and then the other hand so you end up in a pushup position
• Reverse the movement, lowering your body back down to a plank position.
• Repeat for 10 repetitions

 

Variation #2 - BOSU version

 

The BOSU will add to the stability challenge and force you to work harder to stabilise. 

• Start in a plank position on the BOSU with your core braced
• Press up on to one hand and then the other hand so you end up in a pushup position
• Reverse the movement, lowering your body back down to a plank position
• Repeat for 10 repetitions
   
  

 

Variation #3 - Swiss Ball version

Doing the exercise on a swiss ball is the ultimate challenge and will test your stability to the maximum.

• Start in a plank position on the Swiss Ball with your core braced
• Press up on to one hand and then the other hand so you end up in a pushup position
• Reverse the movement, lowering your body back down to a plank position
• Repeat for 10 repetitions

 

Make sure you have a go at this exercise in your next workout!

How many days per week should surfers strength train?

How many days per week should surfers strength train?

 

As a minimum you should do at least 2 total body functional workouts per week.

 

This will provide a lot of the health and fitness benefits that resistance training is scientifically proven to do.

 

Aside from the obvious benefits like improving your functional strength and surfing performance, doing regular weight training will also help with...

• Improvements in fat burning
• Enhancing bone density
• Better cardiovascular health
• Reduced risk of diabetes and some cancers
• Decreased stress levels
• Improvements in sleep
• More productive at work

 

However, in an ideal world, you would try and do 3 total body workouts per week for several reasons...

 

1. You can build muscle for up to 48 hours after a workout. University studies have shown that after a strength training workout, muscle protein synthesisis increased for up to 2 days after your workout, which means you can build muscle for this time period (as long as you are eating enough to fuel muscle growth).

 

2. Your metabolism can stay elevated for a similar amount of time after a full body workout, meaning you can be burning fat for almost 2 days after your workout. So if you want to get lean and athletic, strength training is the way to go.

 

 

Taking both of these factors into account, if you do total body workouts every 2 days (or 3 times per week) you are increasing the opportunity for both muscle growth and fat burning.

 

 

So in summary, aim for 2-3 total body functional training workouts per week to improve both your surfing and your health!

 

 

2012 Surf Fitness Training

2012 Surf Fitness Training- "Prehab" or "corrective" exercises will become more popular as part of surf fitness training programs.

 

In recent years there has been a big emphasis on "correct exercise" science in strength and conditioning circles. If we can keep clients injury free and moving effectively, then their performance will improve and they can train harder.

 

Foam rolling, mobility exercises, and activation exercises are all ways of helping improve movement patterns to enhance performance.

 

 

Want to see what kind of corrective exercises you should be incorporating in your surf training program? Check out the links below...

 

Free your tight muscles with self myofascial release...

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/perform-better-with-self-myofascial-release/

 

Improve your upper back mobility and take the pressure off your lower back... 

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/thoracic-mobility-exercises-for-surfers/

 

Loosen your hips and enhance your performance... 

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/hip-mobility-exercises-for-surf-snow-sports/

 

 

You are only as strong as your weakest link, so it's time to start fixing your imbalances with corrective exercises in your surf training program.   

 

 

Make 2012 your fittest year yet!

Functional Core Training

Functional Core Training will continue to increase in popularity as mainstream personal trainers are slowly starting to catch on that there is more to core training that just hammering out a few hundred situps.

 

Here are the types of core training exercises you should be doing...

 

• Anti-rotation - you need to be able to resist rotational forces acting on your body in order to remain stable when surfing or doing any other sporting activity.
• Rotary power training - you also need to be able to generate rotational forces using your hips, while protecting your lower back from too much movement.
• Dynamic core stability exercises - you need to move and at the same time keep stable through your trunk to transfer the force from the ground up through your body.

 

Want more core training information and exercises? Check out the links below... 

 

Assess your core stability with this quick test...

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/trunk-stability-pushup-test/

 

Build rotary power with these core exercises...

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/rotational-core-exercises/

 

I challenge you to try this core complex in your next workout...

http://surfnsnowfitness.com/core-complex-finisher/

 

 

Core training should be a solid foundation of your training program, so make sure you are building a strong stable core in your surf workouts

 

 

Improve your paddling efficiency.

If you want to paddle on your surfboard more efficiently and take the pressure off your lower back, then you need to have good thoracic spine mobility.

The position of your body when you are paddling on your surfboard means your back is in an extended position putting pressure on your lower back. But you can minimize this pressure by extending more from your thoracic spine to take the pressure off your lumbar spine.

If your upper back can arch a bit better, you can paddle more efficiently and it can also help prevent your neck from having to extend so much as well.

Check out these 2 exercises to improve thoracic mobility..

Thoracic Spine Mobility Exercises For Surfers

Thoracic Extension on Foam Roller

• Lie on your back with a foam roller placed under your upper back.
• Holding your hands on the back of your head, arch back slowly and gently over the roller.
• Lean forwards again and move the roller up your back just a little then repeat the process.
• Keep moving the roller up your spine little by little until you have done your whole thoracic spine (don’t go up to your neck, or down to your lower back).

.

Kneeling Thoracic Spine Extension-Rotation

• Start on all fours with one hand behind your head and your core braced to prevent movement through your lower back.
• Reach your elbow down towards your opposite knee and then extend back up and try and point your elbow towards the ceiling.
• Repeat this for 8-10 repetitions then repeat on the other side.

.

The problem is, a lot of us have pretty poor posture due to sitting in front of computers all day, so our upper backs and shoulders are usually rounded forward too far, which decreases the mobility of our thoracic spine, and makes extending our upper back when paddling that much harder.

The solution - Improve your upper back extension and rotation with a couple of exercises you can do at home or add to your workouts.

.

Hopefully these can help improve your posture, combat lower back and neck fatigue and help you paddle more efficiently.

For more click on the banner above.

Diet Tips for Surfers

. Plan and prepare your meals in advance

 

Yes it's simple, but how many of you actually do it?

 

If spend a few minutes each week planning your meals and even preparing your lunches, snacks, etc, in advance, you would be able to get leaner and stronger faster than ever.

 

Here are a few things I do to help plan and prepare my eating in advance...

 

• Write down what I am going to eat for the week and then base my shopping list on that
  
• Chop a salad the night before to have with my lunch (I normally have a big tuna or chicken salad)
• Always have plenty of fruit and unsalted nuts available for snacks
  
• Take a water bottle with me everywhere so I always have something to drink and don't need to buy soft drink
• Make extra for dinner to take for lunch the next day or to put in the freezer for another meal when you don't have time to cook
• Make sure I have plenty of fresh vegetables to have with my meals
• Don't keep any potato chips, or junk food at home, so that way I am not tempted to eat it
  

 

They are just a few tips you could use to help plan and prepare your meals in advance.

 

You might also benefit from using a food diary to record what you are eating. This way it might force you to take more notice of your diet.

 

If you want to clean up your diet and get lean, strong and fit, have a go at planning your meals in advance this week.

 

 

 

The same rule also applies for your fitness training - You need to plan your workouts in advance!

 

Luckily you don't need to prepare the workouts, because I have done that for you. All you need to do is download them...