Archive for the ‘training’ Category

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Hyper Training Lab: Total Body Circuit Using Dynamic Training Tools

November 15th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Britny Fowler - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - Hyper Vest - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - SandBell - TRX - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - circuit training - female athlete - functional fitness - strength training - training - weight bearing exercise - workout

Welcome back to the Hyper Training Lab! In this week’s lab, Diane welcomes another one of Hyperwear’s Training Ambassadors, Britny Fowler, as the guest coach. In this circuit, Britny takes us through some great total body conditioning exercises that combine three dynamic training tools- the SandBell, Hyper Vest Pro and TRX suspension bands. The video and circuit highlight the effectiveness of the Hyper Vest PRO, and how the vest is a great tool to add load to TRX exercises, and increase the overall intensity of the circuit.

Total Body Circuit Exercises:

  1. TRX/Hyper Vest Pro one leg squat to hip hinge combination
  2. SandBell rotational push-up
  3. TRX/Hyper Vest Pro torso rotation
  4. SandBell burpee slam

It’s your move! CLICK HERE to watch this week’s Hyper Training Lab video.

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Hyper Training Lab: Speed, Strength and Linear Movement

November 8th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - SandBell - SteelBell - Training the Female Athlete - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - circuit training - endurance exercise - female athlete - fitness - functional fitness - grip strength - personal trainer - squats - stability - strength training - training - wellness - workout
Join Hyperwear Training Ambassador, Jim Bell, as our guest coach in this week’s Hyper Training Lab! Today’s focus targets the athlete, or those who approach aggressive training as their sport of choice. Here, Jim takes movements that use linear speed strength and power to create a challenging circuit for the athlete.
Focus Movements:
1. Shotgun squats: speed squat with explosive chest press
2. Explosive chest toss with jump
3. Broad jump
4. Band resisted sprints
Add these exercises to your next workout, and don’t forget to tailor weight and repetitions to fit your training needs. Remember, it’s your move!
CLICK HERE to view this week’s Hyper Training Lab video.
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Burning off those tricks and treats

November 3rd, 2011
,,,,,,, - Excellence through Exercise - Hyper Vest - HyperWear - SandBell - burn calories - endurance exercise - exercise - fitness - pull ups - push ups - running - training - weight loss

Now that Halloween is over and the costumes are put away, you’re probably starting to stress about how you’re going to recover from that bottomless candy bowl taunting you on the counter. Well, no need to fret! Take a look at the caloric damage you’ve done, accept it, and then see what exercises you can do to burn that Reese’s off your bottom.

Fun size candy calories:

  • Snickers- 72 calories
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup- 80 calories
  • Almond Joy- 91 calories
  • Reese’s Nutrageous- 95 calories
  • M&M’s- 90 calories
  • Peanut M&M’s- 93 calories
  • Butterfinger- 100 calories
  • Milky Way- 76 calories
  • Skittles- 80 calories
  • Kit Kat- 73 calories

Ready to make a B-line for the gym after adding up those “fun sized” calories? Before you lace up your kicks, keep reading to see how you can get the most out your workouts this week.

One easy way to kick start calorie burning without changing your workout routine is to simply throw on a Hyper Vest PRO weight vest.

“…by adding resistance to your workout, you can boost your overall caloric output. Resistance in the form of a weighted vest helps to amplify your calorie burning results of any weight-bearing exercise such as running, jumping rope, or playing your favorite sport,” says Kimberly Butts, author of the Livestrong.com article “Weighted Vests to Burn More Calories.”

Another great way to get more bang for your caloric buck is with circuit training. According to Harvard Health Publications, on average a 155 pound person will burn 298 calories after 30 minutes of circuit training, and a 185 pound person will burn 355 calories. For some GREAT circuit training ideas, view our Hyper Training Lab videos on YouTube, or click here to see the most recent one!

Don’t see your favorite candy on this list above? Read the full article on calories in popular Halloween candy on fitsugar.com.

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Hyper Training Lab: High Intensity Leg Circuit

November 1st, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,, - Body movements - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - SteelBell - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - burn calories - circuit training - endurance exercise - exercise - functional fitness - squats - stability - strength training - training - weight vest - workout

Welcome back to the Hyper Training Lab with Diane Vives MS, CSCS! This week, Diane brings you a great leg circuit to challenge the energy systems by focusing on conditioning. This circuit uses four exercises with little to no rest in between each exercise in order to take advantage of generating more volume in a short amount of time.  For progression, you can start with half the number of reps and master each exercise first with 30-90 seconds rest in between. Then, your goal is to work up to the given number of repetitions and immediately transition to each exercise without resting.

Leg Circuit Exercises:

  1. 24 hip swings with SteelBell or SandBell
  2. 24 alternating lunges with SteelBell/SandBell exchange
  3. 24 power steps with SandBell, option to substitute split jumps
  4. 12 squat jumps

Now go out and give this circuit a try, and remember to work up to eliminating the rest in between each exercise if necessary.

It’s your move! Click HERE to watch this week’s Hyper Training Lab video.

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Hyper Training Lab: Challenge Core Strength With One-Sided Load

October 25th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - HyperWear - SandBell - SteelBell - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - balance - burn calories - circuit training - dynamic warm up - endurance - endurance exercise - exercise - fitness - functional fitness - personal trainer - sandbag - squats - stability - strength training - training - workout

Welcome back to the Hyper Training Lab! In this week’s lab, Diane Vives brings you a great circuit that focuses on challenging core strength with a one-sided load. Rotary stability is the ability to resist unwanted movement and maintain excellent posture and control.  The benefits of training your body to execute good posture come into play when you perform movements that require core strength and stability.

The following exercises are a great way to improve strength training movements and overall performance, and also have the added benefit of loading one side of the body, which places an additional emphasis on targeting rotary stability muscles.

Core Challenging Circuit Exercises:

  1. Squat with one arm carry- Using a SteelBell
  2. Lunge with lateral exchange – Using a SandBell
  3. Upper-body one arm curl to press- Using a SandBell
  4. One leg dead lift with one arm reach – Using a SandBell

All of these exercises are a great addition to building your exercise menu for stability challenging movements. Also, be sure to tailor the weight and number of repetitions to fit your individual workout requirements. Go out, give this circuit a try and let us know what you think!

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Monday Morning Scoop: Improve grip strength with the SandBell

October 24th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,, - HyperWear - Monday Morning Scoop - SandBell - SteelBell - Stronger Grip - athlete training - burn calories - endurance - endurance exercise - fitness - football - functional fitness - grip strength - sandbag - strength training - training - workout

Good Monday morning! As you’re beginning the week, planning your schedule and figuring out when to squeeze in those workouts, consider exercising an area that is generally over-looked.

When deciding which muscle groups you’re going to work on during a particular workout, you’re probably not saying to yourself, “Okay, I’m going to do back today, legs tomorrow and grip-strength/forearm on Wednesday.” But, you might want to consider adding in some grip-strength and forearm focused exercises for a number of reasons.

Your finger movement and dexterity is controlled by all of the muscles in your hands and forearms. Having strong hands and fingers means more than a confident and firm handshake. Think of ALL the daily movements you do that require your hands—locking doors, blow drying hair, tying shoes, buttoning a shirt, assembling equipment, changing the radio station. Almost everything you do requires exerting activity from your fingers and hands, even the activities you do almost unconsciously.

“Improved gripping strength produces faster results in the gym because you are able to hold onto heavy weights… In sports requiring the use of a racquet or bat, you’ll be able to swing it harder without losing your grip,” says David Benjamin in the online article “Benefits of Hand Grip Exercises” on livestrong.com.

Want an easy way to improve grip strength, while still completing your everyday exercises—PICK UP A SANDBELL!! Seriously.

The active, shifting movement of the sand inside the SandBell (or steel inside the SteelBell), constantly activates and challenges the muscles in your hands and forearms. Practically every exercise you can do with a SandBell will also challenge those grip strength muscles that you now know are so important.

For SandBell exercise ideas, view our Hyper Training Lab videos. The videos are a great tool for expanding your fitness knowledge and uncovering new ways to challenge your body, get fit and increase your performance levels.

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Hyper Training Lab: Total Body Combos for High Intensity Circuits

October 18th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Britny Fowler - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - SandBell - Stronger Grip - Training the Female Athlete - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - balance - burn calories - circuit training - dynamic warm up - endurance - endurance exercise - female athlete - personal trainer - sandbag - strength training - training - weight bearing exercise - workout

In this week’s Hyper Training Lab, Diane Vives focuses on building combination movements throughout an entire circuit. This works to create a more aggressive conditioning circuit by intensifying each exercise. Building intensity throughout the circuit sets can boost overall energy demands, and also allow for great strength endurance when handling higher workloads.

Total Upper and Lower Body Combos:

  1. Squat to band row
  2. Slide knee tuck to push up
  3. Lunge with arc
  4. Rainbow slam

To view this week’s Hyper Training Lab video, click here. Use these movements to build your exercise archive and improve total body performance. This is a great metabolically challenging circuit that can be incorporated into a variety of settings, and used by anyone from fitness enthusiasts to athletes and trainers. Go out, give it a try and let us know what you think!

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Hyper Training Lab: Metabolic Circuit for Lower-Body w. Diane Vives

October 11th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Britny Fowler - Circuit training elements - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - HyperWear - SandBell - Stronger Grip - Training the Female Athlete - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - balance - circuit training - dynamic warm up - endurance - endurance exercise - exercise - female athlete - fitness - grip strength - kettlebell replacement - sandbag - single leg - squats - stability - strength training - training - weight bearing exercise - weight vest - workout

In this week’s Hyper Training Lab, Diane uncovers a great metabolic circuit that focuses on lateral movements of the lower body.  This not only increases the energy demands by doing a four-exercise circuit that targets one movement area, but also includes lateral movements that many of us neglect.  Lateral lower body exercises allow us to train movements needed for changes of direction and frontal plane (left to right) stability, which can enhance running efficiency and injury prevention.

Lateral Lower Body Blast:

  1. Lateral Speed Squat: Start in wide position, making sure to sit back in proper position, and lunge from left to right without picking up the feet.
  2. Lateral Lunge with Reach: With this lunge you introduce a step, be sure to load the SandBell on the outside and pay attention to the grip-strength muscles being activated.
  3. Lateral Box Shuffle: It’s important with this exercise to really push off the outside leg. The SandBell load helps emphasize the change in direction when transitioning over the box step.
  4. Skaters with SandBell Reach: Make sure to push off each foot and to take the SandBell toward each shoe to load on your basis of support.

Build from 12 repetitions per exercise for 2-3 sets, once a week for beginners, and more advanced exercisers can begin at 24 repetitions per exercise for 3-4 sets, once a week.

This circuit is a great challenge to keep in your arsenal of training tools. Incorporate these exercises, and ones similar to it, to make sure you’re strengthening those lateral movement muscles. Go out, give this a try and let us know what you think!

To view this week’s Hyper Training Lab video with Diane Vives, click here!

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Monday Morning Scoop: What it takes to be an Olympic athlete

October 10th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,, - HyperWear - Monday Morning Scoop - athlete training - balance - dynamic warm up - endurance - endurance exercise - exercise - fitness - functional fitness - personal trainer - running - stability - strength training - training - weight loss - workout

For most, finding the motivation to log in time at the gym is a daily struggle. The priority of making time to exercise seems to creep further toward the bottom of the list with jobs, kids and all of life’s daily stresses.

But, imagine being a professional athlete or Olympian.

Working out and staying fit is your job, and that time from 9-5 spent gazing at a computer now becomes eight hours of work, sweat and complete dedication. That hour on the treadmill doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?

“People don’t know the process which athletes undertake in their individual sports to reach the Olympic level. You get there by sticking it out. There are a lot of people that try and give up,” says Jim Ochowicz, men’s professional road racing team Olympic athlete, in the article, “How to Train Like An Olympian” on Forbes.com.

The online article goes on to say that on average, athletes spend four to eight years preparing and training before making an Olympic team. Also, training schedules aren’t planned weekly or monthly, but yearly to ensure they reach specific performance goals.

While less than one percent of us will ever be able to call ourselves Olympic athletes, you can still employ some of their training techniques so you can look and feel like one. The online article, “Go for Gold! Learn to train like an Olympian” reveals some great fitness tips from various professional coaches.

Below are several key training tips from the article:

“Weights are great, but don’t underestimate the power of body-weight exercises. They provide you with a body awareness that you just can’t get with plates or dumbbells, and that translates into more explosive power in the ring and more agility in the real world,” says Larry Nelson, USA Boxing’s 2003 developmental coach of the year.

“Along with flexibility and body control, balance is an essential component of weight lifting. The best way to bolster it is with an overhead squat,” recommends Mike Burgener, father and coach of Casey Burgener—top-ranked US power lifter in Beijing.

“Whether you’re trying to log a faster 10K or just keep up with your bean-thin teen, the key to running more efficiently is to reduce the amount of time your feet spend on the ground. One of the best ways to do this is with hill sprints…” says Brad Hudson, champion marathoner and current coach of Olympic gold medal marathon hopeful Dathan Ritzenhein.

Bottom line, being an Olympic athlete and training like one takes time and dedication. Putting in an hour a day will make you feel better, look better and live a long and healthy life. So, next time you decide to put off the gym because you “just don’t have enough time,” think about those people logging in eight hours a day, every day, of mentally and physically strenuous training, and march yourself straight into that gym!

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Hyper Training Lab: Partner Circuit Examples w. Diane Vives

October 4th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,, - Diane Vives - Hyper Training Lab - HyperWear - SandBell - Tuesday Training Lab - athlete training - endurance - exercise - female athlete - functional fitness - grip strength - personal trainer - stability - strength training - training - weight loss - workout

Partner Circuit Examples

Welcome back to this week’s Hyper Training Lab with Diane Vives! There are many great applications that make the SandBells and SteelBells great tools for partner work.  This could be a station within a bigger circuit, or a great way to set up an entire circuit for partners. The SandBell movement actions of tosses and strikes add a fun and effective element to the workout.

  1. Split lunge with flips (Pillar Two – Level Change): Great isometric hold to increase leg strength while creating a fun stability challenge with the SandBell tosses
  2. Partner Plank Flips – Mirror/Follow Leader options (Pillar Three – Upper Body Push/Pull): Trains the upper body while keeping you motivated with the great interaction of a partner.  Great stability strength and single arm strength while performing the flip action.
  3. Partner side strikes (Pillar Four – Rotary Stability/Rotation): Focus on turning the shoulders as a unit with the action of the mid-torso.  Great for core strength and the rotational strength needed in changes of direction in sports agility movements
  4. Partner shuffles  (Pillar 1 – Locomotion/Biomotor Skills): Here we focus on lateral locomotion and challenge hand-eye coordination with the chest pass.  Great for increasing the energy demands of the overall circuit and still maintaining the fun factor with partner work.

Look out for more great challenge circuit ideas in next week’s Hyper Training Lab that are perfect for conditioning and pushing toward your personal best!

Click to view this week\’s Hyper Training Lab video!

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