Archive for the ‘HyperWear’ Category

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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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Monday Morning Scoop: NEW Hyperwear Team Pavement Pounders weekly running group!

October 17th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,, - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - Monday Morning Scoop - endurance - endurance exercise - exercise - running

As we make our way into fall, not only do the leaves begin to change and weather starts to cool, but the number of runners stampeding through the streets of Austin also sees a rise. To accompany this great weather and increase in runners, your friends at Hyperwear are starting our very own weekly running meet-up group!

TODAY, Monday October 17th at 6 p.m. marks the kick-off of the Hyperwear Team Pavement Pounders weekly running group! Every Monday at 6 p.m., a member of the Hyperwear staff will meet underneath the Mopac Bridge on Town Lake to lead the group in a run. Team Pavement Pounders is completely free to join and open to ALL ages and endurance levels.

Runs will vary from 3 to 7+ miles, depending on the running ability of the group, and Pavement Pounder news and updates will be posted on Hyperwear’s new events calendar! As an added bonus, on selected weeks there will be Hyper Vest PRO’s available to test out during the run, as well as Hyperwear employee and Ambassador guest runners!

The Hyperwear Pavement Pounders running group is a perfect fit for everyone from novice runners looking to join a fun, social running group, to those runners training for races and looking to challenge themselves or want the consistent motivation of a weekly running group. Each week, runners will have the option of completing the standard 3-mile loop around Town Lake, or sticking with the group and taking an extended route.

We recommend parking underneath the Mopac Bridge, or along the street if spots are available. The Team Pavement Pounders running leader will be wearing a Hyperwear shirt, and will meet near the Run Tex water station near the base of the bridge. Also, don’t forget to check the events calendar on the Hyperwear Facebook page for special news and updates.

Mark your calendars, bring some friends and we’ll see YOU at the Mopac Bridge on Town Lake this evening at 6 p.m.!

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Thursday’s PE Drill Thrill: SandBell partner games

October 13th, 2011
,,,,,,, - Children's fitness - HyperWear - Kids - P.E. - Physical Education - SandBell - Thursday's PE Drill Thrill

Welcome back to Thursday’s PE Drill Thrill! The past couple Drill Thrill blogs have focused on individual SandBell activities that can be done on their own, or combined to create a circuit. This week’s drills consist of partner exercises that focus on lower and upper body movement.

Drill Thrill #1: Ding Dong

  1. Arrange students into pairs, giving one SandBell per pair.
  2. One partner begins by standing on top of the SandBell, while the other partner stands on the floor.
  3. Partners clasp each other’s wrists.
  4. The student standing on the SandBell jumps backwards onto the floor, while their partner simultaneously jumps onto the SandBell.
  5. Challenge students to stay in rhythm jumping on and off the SandBell for as many “ding dongs” as possible, or see how many they can do in 30 or 60 seconds.

Drill Thrill #2: Pound It!

  1. Arrange students into pairs, giving one SandBell per pair and direct partners to face each other with three to four feet between them.
  2. One partner holds the SandBell at chest height with arms extended, gripping the colored rim so that the logo is facing the floor.
  3. The partner without the SandBell stands with their arms outstretched at chest height and hands balled in fists.
  4. At the sound of the whistle, the student begins pounding the bottom of the SandBell in an up and down alternating-arm motion.
  5. The student pounds the SandBell as fast as they can for 30 seconds, and then switches roles with their partner.

*Variation: Students can stand stationary while pounding the SandBell, or the partner holding the SandBell can slowly move the SandBell up and down or side to side. The other partner must then move and follow the SandBell and continue to pound it as they are guided around.

Challenge students to complete these drills as fast as they can to amp up the complexity! Now go put these drills into action and check back in a couple weeks to uncover even more great partner drills!

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Diane Vives and Austin Fit Magazine Breast Cancer Recovery Exercises

October 12th, 2011
,,,,,,,, - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Diane Vives - Hyper Vest PRO - HyperWear - SandBell - physical therapy - workout

In honor of breast cancer awareness month, Hyperwear’s Director of Training and Under Armour Advisory Board Member, Diane Vives MS, CSCS has teamed up with Austin Fit Magazine, in Diane’s “Moving Muscle of the Month” article, to bring you exercises geared specifically toward breast cancer rehabilitation and recovery.

In the YouTube video, Diane reveals several key exercises that target areas in need of strengthening and improvement after breast cancer treatment, surgery or reconstruction. Focusing on these areas works to decrease recovery time and helps get breast cancer survivors back to their normal functioning lifestyles.

Target Area #1: Upper-Body Range of Motion

  • Rolling push-up on at an elevated position: Shift from right to left and low to high, use a plyo box, bench or bar on the rack. Begin to increase range of motion as your become stronger and more comfortable with the movement.

Target Area #2: Postural Changes

  • Vector training with bands: Focus on posture strength, start in forward position and pull all the way back to a row. This exercise emphasizes muscles in the lower part of the shoulder blades that helps to improve posture.

Target Area #3: Re-Gaining Grip-Strength

  • Bent over row: Use a SandBell, which allows you to dig into the moving, shifting sand that activates grip muscles. Complete repetitions of bent over rows, making sure to constantly have a strong, active grip.

It’s important to note that everyone is very individualistic in their type of cancer, treatment and recovery plans, so it’s essential to always check with your doctor before you begin any sort of exercising plan.

View the YouTube video to see these exercises in action, and be sure to pick up the October issue of Austin Fit Magazine for more on these exercises, and information from Diane!

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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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Monday Morning Scoop: Foods every runner should be eating

October 3rd, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - HyperWear - Monday Morning Scoop - running

For all those long-distance, need-for-speed, pavement-pounding runners out there, today’s blog is for you. With fall coming upon us, and hopefully some cooler weather, your weekly mileage is probably increasing, and so should your body’s reserves of essential foods to keep you in tip-top shape.

When you begin racking up those miles, your body not only increases endurance, but also the production of free radicals, which are produced naturally by our bodies. What’s more, the more you run, the more your body produces these agents that over time can slow recovery and increase your susceptibility to disease.

In order to combat these muscle-damaging radicals, there are several foods that aid in protecting your body and keeping nutrient stores full. Matthew G. Kadey, in his article “Natural Defense” for the September issue of Runner’s World, sheds some insight onto just what foods runners should be sure to incorporate into their diets.

First up, black rice, which is loaded with antioxidants that fight off those free radicals, have been shown to provide a defense against cancer and heart disease. Next, Brazil nuts contain a plentiful source of selenium that the body uses to create a “crucial antioxidant enzyme.” Kadey recommends adding Brazil nuts to salads or blending with milk and fruit for a smoothie.

Kadey’s third recommendation, egg yolks, are a primary source of lutein and zeaxanthin that combine to protect your retina and eyes. Egg yolks also contain selenium, vitamin E, high-quality protein and choline, which can help to keep your ticker healthy.

Adding lentils to your diet is said to help improve muscle recovery and decrease risk for chronic diseases. Lentils are a nutritional powerhouse that contain protein and tons of essential vitamins and minerals. A delicious way to incorporate lentils into your next meal is by replacing half the meat with cooked lentils when grilling burgers, says Kadey.

To read the full article and uncover a few more foods essential for runners, you can view Kadey’s article here. Try out some of these foods or incorporate them into recipes of your own and let us know how they turn out!

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Thursday’s PE Drill Thrill: Fast-moving feet

September 29th, 2011
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, - Children's fitness - HyperWear - Kids - P.E. - SandBell - Thursday's PE Drill Thrill - circuit training

Moving right along from our last PE Drill Thrill blog, this week’s drills are going to focus on individual activities that concentrate on a single, basic movement. Don’t get us wrong, the movements may be basic, but they’re definitely not short on fun, exciting and challenging!

Drill Thrill #1: Scissors

  1. Give each student a SandBell.
  2. Instruct students to start in a forward straddle position, with one foot in front and one foot in back.
  3. Students begin by placing one foot on top of the SandBell, and when a whistle is blown they jump and scissor their feet back and forth to alternate landing each foot on top of the SandBell.
  4. Challenge to see how many “scissors” students can do in 30 or 60 seconds.

*Variation: If there are not enough SandBells for each student to have their own, arrange students in groups and they can take turns executing the exercise and then compare their numbers with one another.

Drill Thrill #2: Straddle On

  1. Give each student a SandBell.
  2. Instruct students to start in a straddle position, placing the SandBell on the floor between their feet.
  3. Begin exercise by squatting and jumping to land with both feet on the SandBell and then jumping back out to the straddle position.
  4. Challenge to see how many “straddle ons” students can do in 30 and 60 seconds.

Drill Thrill #3: Slalom

  1. Give each student a SandBell.
  2. Instruct students to stand with both feet on the SandBell, then jump to one side of the SandBell and then immediately back on top of it.
  3. Jump to the opposite side of the SandBell and then back on top again.
  4. Repeat alternating side and center jumps for 30 seconds.

These short, quick drills are great exercises to add to relays, circuits or game challenges. You can also combine today’s drills to make a feet-focused challenge circuit that’s sure to get everyone’s heart pumping and faces laughing. So, go on out and give these drills a try!

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