Fitness4You
Instead of focusing on one single muscle or one group of muscles, how would you like to challenge your body to use everything by incorporating balance, flexibility, strength and endurance? At first glance, it might seem like a list of the same cardio exercises you have seen a thousand plus times. Well, the truth is, you probably have seen some of these exercises before; but not like this. Fluid Motion X is a series of complex movements that combine several exercises into one fluid motion, hence the name.
Ready for a quick history lesson? Before the last century, being overweight was not common. Besides not overindulging on fast food and spending countless hours in front of the television, men and women had to fight for survival, whether that meant actually fighting each other, hunting for food or building shelters. Their societies were hands-on and driven by manual labor. For example, Spartan warriors trained for battle as a profession; they were not allowed to practice any other craft. You think that they were fit because they chose to focus on strength training individual muscles 30 minutes every other day? No, they were fit because they utilized every muscle in their body at the same time to fight. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have an entire day to devote to exercising.
Even just 60 years ago, the average U.S. male weighed 164 lbs. Now, the average is 194. While the 1½ inch average increase in male height undoubtedly had some effect, that’s still a 30 lb increase.
A common modern example of this style of exercise is Parkour, a quasi-sport in which partakers try to overcome all obstacles and obstructions in their path without pause. Parkour may seem like a silly game played by hyper teenagers high on caffeine, but when done correctly with appropriately scouted obstacles, it can be an extremely effective and enjoyable workout.
This is the kind of fast-paced exercise I have reconstructed into a short workout. Intense cardio exercises that use this approach will not only trim the fat, but also shape and cut the muscles. I’ve compiled a list of 5 Fluid Motion X exercises with a medicine ball. These exercises should only be done with 15-30 second breaks in between.
1) Squat Throw – Overhead Chop – Squat Throw – Chop Right – Squat Throw – Chop Left
Repeat 5 times
Targeted muscle groups: Legs, Arms, Shoulders, Abs
2) Rocky Solo – 450 Twist – Toe Touch
Repeat 10 times
Targeted Muscle Groups: Abs
3) Squat Overhead Swing – Tricep Extension – Twist Left – Twist Right
Targeted Muscle Groups: Legs, Arms, Shoulders, Abs
Repeat 10 times
4) Medicine Ball Jump – Fall down – Ball Pushup X5 – Ball Mountain Climbers X10
Repeat 5 times
Targeted Muscle Groups: Legs, Chest, Back, Abs
5) Squat Jump – Lateral Lunge Right – Balance – Squat Jump – Lateral Lunge Left – Balance – Squat Jump
Repeat 10 times
Targeted Muscle Groups: Legs
This entire routine will probably take you no more than 10-15 minutes. Use it to wake yourself up in the morning, to get your heart rate up for strength training, as an entire workout (repeat over and over again) or, heck I don’t care, use it in the middle of the bowling alley in front of your team adversaries with a bowling ball to scare them into forfeiting. Just do it and the results you’re seeking will follow. Good luck.
- Andrew
When eating, our body has no way of indicating when we have consumed a sufficient amount of calories; that crippling full feeling you get is actually your body kindly informing you that you significantly overindulged. Unfortunately there isn’t a yellow light. Our hunger traffic light drops from green to red without any obvious anticipatory warning. This is what causes us to overeat. We don’t pay attention to the suggested serving sizes or the caloric intake and as a result, two thirds of our country’s population is by definition overweight. How do we counter this? How can we bring that number down so that God forbid our glorious country is ever attacked by aliens, we can at least run away? Portion control.
The problem with portion control is that it requires will power and if you have consistently been eating whatever you want whenever you want, you might struggle with disciplining yourself. Part of the problem is the overpowering itch to eat whenever you’re bored, punishing work/schoolwork, or in front of the television mindlessly watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Eating has become a form of entertainment that distracts us when we’re unsatisfied with what we are currently doing. Here’s how to prevent your stomach from controlling your mind. Take a serving size of anything, and eat it as slow as possible. Grab a serving size of carrots for a snack, Nature’s orange football pylon, and knock one down every minute to swindle your body into thinking that it is taking in a lot of food.
Another important point to mention is, just because the food is considered healthy, it doesn’t mean your serving size is too. For instance, raspberries are healthy until you eat a million of them to satisfy your hunger. One thousand calories of raspberries is still one thousand calories. Being fruit does not change that. This doesn’t mean that you have to bust out the measuring cup every time you want to chow down. Just eyeball it.
According to MayoClinic.com this is an appropriate serving table for weight loss
Food Group Daily Calorie Intake
1200 1400 1600
Vegetables 4 or more 4 or more 5 or more
Fruits 3 or more 4 or more 5 or more
Carbohydrates 4 5 6
Proteins/Dairy 3 4 5
Fats 3 3 3
Several things to note about this table:
1) If you’re also trying to gain muscle mass, consume more than the suggested daily amount of protein.
2) Unsaturated fats are necessary for your body to absorb the nutrients of the other foods and body maintenance. So don’t just skip over any thing with fat in it. Just try to avoid Saturated fats that can be found in meat and dairy and definitely avoid Trans Fats that can be found in pretty much anything from fried foods like French fries to baked goods like cupcakes.
3) Avoid heavier carbs at night, especially if they are consumed within 3 hours before bedtime. If your body does not have enough time to digest it completely before bedtime, it has a high percentage of being stored as fat in your sleep.
4) The same goes for fruit late at night. It may seem healthy but if there isn’t enough time for you to digest the nutrients then it converts to sugar.
- - Andrew
