Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Training Outside of the Box
One of the biggest things I think has helped me not only stick with training and not make excuses, but also have fun, is learning to train outside of the box. What I mean by training outside of the box is being creative and creating solutions for every situation. One of the most common complaints and excuses for skipping a workout is "I don't have the equipment" or "I'm on the road" or "The gym was busy." If you learn how to be creative and adapt, you can always have a successful workout.
As an example, when I did door-to-door personal training, one of my clients had a universal gym. It had a great vertical bench press attachment but virtually nothing for the back in a rowing motion. Imagine how surprised my client was when I showed him how he could stand and face the bench press contraption, and turn it into an instant rowing machine!
Of course this comes with all of the standard warnings about not using equipment as intended, following safety precautions, etc, but is an example of creating value out of a situation and not having to go out and buy all new equipment.
The techniques I used today in my upper body workout are actually quite simple but for some people not so obvious.
I started out with a standard bench press and then did a push-up superset. Many people have seen the commercials on television for special push-up contraptions that allow you to get a better grip instead of having palms flat (some even twist). If you have standard hex dumbbells, here is an easy solution: just grib a light weight dumbbell in each hand, and use those to elevate your grip from the floor. Simple and easy to do and reduces the strain on your wrists without investing in a fancy contraption.
For my back I was doing dumbbell rows. For this segment I'm doing both arms at once, so I elevate the bench enough so my dumbbells are not touching the floor when my arms are extended, and then go to work. I did a cable row superset.
For shoulders, it was the Arnold press. Nothing new there, but then I did a front raise super set. For some reason, people seemed to be locked into the belief that the shoulder is mainly a single-armed dumbbell muscle. I always see people doing side and lateral (to the front) raises with dumbbells. My front raise was using the EZ-curl bar. It has a nice grip. I simply grab the bar shoulder width, then raise it with my arms locked in front so my arms are parallel, pause, then lower. You'll notice an immediate difference from using dumbbells. Most importantly if you have a shoulder/scapular imbalance which many people do, with dumbbells you may tend to shrug one side. This helps you balance the lift and avoid that shrug.
I closed out with pull-ups. Again an exercise people shy from because it's so difficult. I was surprised to learn some people avoid it completely because even if they have a pull-up bar, they have no pulley for lat-pulldowns in the house and no partner to do assisted pull-ups so it becomes that elusive exercise that "someday" I may be able to do.
This is where a cheat ... albeit a controlled, safe cheat ... can help. I set a goal of, say, 12 pull-ups. While I used to be able to do these weighted when I was training for bodybuilding, I can barely do a few body weight pull-ups right now. No problem! I set the goal for 12 and execute as many pull-ups with perfect form as I can. Then, I still finish the 12, this time assisting myself. Basically, I use my legs to jump and gain momentum. The rule is that I still clear the bar, and am able to control myself enough to at least lower slowly. So I'm not pulling up from a dead hang, I'm launching up but then lowering myself more slowly. Sometimes I'm going down faster than others!
If you think this is "cheating" and not receiving the benefit of the exercise, you haven't tried it. The first time I learned this technique, I was sore for days afterwards and I was amazed at how fast I was able to master pull-ups. The goal is obviously to end up doing the target repetitions with no assistance, but this creative compromise will help you advance to that goal instead of having to give up and settle for dumbbell rows every week.
It was a good workout, now on to breakfast!
As an example, when I did door-to-door personal training, one of my clients had a universal gym. It had a great vertical bench press attachment but virtually nothing for the back in a rowing motion. Imagine how surprised my client was when I showed him how he could stand and face the bench press contraption, and turn it into an instant rowing machine!
Of course this comes with all of the standard warnings about not using equipment as intended, following safety precautions, etc, but is an example of creating value out of a situation and not having to go out and buy all new equipment.
The techniques I used today in my upper body workout are actually quite simple but for some people not so obvious.
I started out with a standard bench press and then did a push-up superset. Many people have seen the commercials on television for special push-up contraptions that allow you to get a better grip instead of having palms flat (some even twist). If you have standard hex dumbbells, here is an easy solution: just grib a light weight dumbbell in each hand, and use those to elevate your grip from the floor. Simple and easy to do and reduces the strain on your wrists without investing in a fancy contraption.
For my back I was doing dumbbell rows. For this segment I'm doing both arms at once, so I elevate the bench enough so my dumbbells are not touching the floor when my arms are extended, and then go to work. I did a cable row superset.
For shoulders, it was the Arnold press. Nothing new there, but then I did a front raise super set. For some reason, people seemed to be locked into the belief that the shoulder is mainly a single-armed dumbbell muscle. I always see people doing side and lateral (to the front) raises with dumbbells. My front raise was using the EZ-curl bar. It has a nice grip. I simply grab the bar shoulder width, then raise it with my arms locked in front so my arms are parallel, pause, then lower. You'll notice an immediate difference from using dumbbells. Most importantly if you have a shoulder/scapular imbalance which many people do, with dumbbells you may tend to shrug one side. This helps you balance the lift and avoid that shrug.
I closed out with pull-ups. Again an exercise people shy from because it's so difficult. I was surprised to learn some people avoid it completely because even if they have a pull-up bar, they have no pulley for lat-pulldowns in the house and no partner to do assisted pull-ups so it becomes that elusive exercise that "someday" I may be able to do.
This is where a cheat ... albeit a controlled, safe cheat ... can help. I set a goal of, say, 12 pull-ups. While I used to be able to do these weighted when I was training for bodybuilding, I can barely do a few body weight pull-ups right now. No problem! I set the goal for 12 and execute as many pull-ups with perfect form as I can. Then, I still finish the 12, this time assisting myself. Basically, I use my legs to jump and gain momentum. The rule is that I still clear the bar, and am able to control myself enough to at least lower slowly. So I'm not pulling up from a dead hang, I'm launching up but then lowering myself more slowly. Sometimes I'm going down faster than others!
If you think this is "cheating" and not receiving the benefit of the exercise, you haven't tried it. The first time I learned this technique, I was sore for days afterwards and I was amazed at how fast I was able to master pull-ups. The goal is obviously to end up doing the target repetitions with no assistance, but this creative compromise will help you advance to that goal instead of having to give up and settle for dumbbell rows every week.
It was a good workout, now on to breakfast!
Labels: home gym, pull-ups, shoulder exercises, training at home
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