I've decided to hold an impromptu outdoor Boot Camp class this Saturday, October 22,2011 to get one more in before it gets too cold out. The forecast is calling for about 61 degrees this Saturday, but sunny.
If you're interested in a great workout outside, come by Gilston Park in Catonsville this Saturday at 10:30am. You don't have to bring anything except maybe some water, a towel, and of course, as many friends as you'd like. The cost is only $5 per person(cash, please) for a 45 minute class. At 10:30am it may be a little chilly so dress accordingly.
It's not going to be anything too fancy, we're just going to get in the grass and get to work! All skill levels are welcome.
Here's the directions:
Take 695 to exit 15B to route 40 by HH Gregg (the old Circuit City), veer right off of 40 onto North Rolling Road--pass mcdonalds, subway, 7-11 on your right down to the light at Chesworth Rd.--make a right at the light onto Chesworth, Gilston park is right after the first stop sign.
Not that you'd be at work on Saturday, but...
**SSA or CMS people: this park is located about 5-8 minutes from your buildings.
If you were coming from SSA, make a left off of Crosby road at the Crosby Crossing swim club onto Chesworth road, take this up to a stop sign and the park is on your left a little ways after.
If you were coming from CMS you'd veer right at the 5 Guys and take Rolling Road all the way up to the stop light at Chesworth and make a left. The park will be right after the first stop sign on your right.
Feel free to just show up, but an e-mail or a text to let me know you were planning on coming would be appreciated so I can plan better.
Thanks! Hope to see you Saturday!
The Problem With Some Push-ups
The push-up, along with a pull-up, in my opinion, is one of the most beneficial upper body movements one can do. The combination of upper body and core muscles this movement hits in one shot is hard to top.
A push-up should be a staple in any serious exercise routine for men and women.
However, to get the full benefit of it, you really need to do a full range of motion. The problem I see with a lot of push-ups, and this is mostly done by men, is that they sacrifice a full range of motion in order to crank out more reps, or to finish more quickly.
Specifically, when one does a regular push-up, they should lower their chest almost to the ground, but not actually touch the ground, then push themselves all the way back up. I see too many men doing short, choppy push-ups, barely pushing themselves back up at all. These are called 'pulses' and they have their place in certain routines, but a pulse is more of a vibration. A full, regular push-up is with the full range of motion, and it should be done this way to get the full benefit. One should be pushing up at least until their tricep muscle (the "horseshoe muscle") is fully flexed.
I've seen several push-up "contests", where the object is to crank out as many push-ups as one can in a certain amount of time, and the push-ups in these contests are often done as pulses, ie-the guy is not pushing himself all the way back up. I've always had a slight problem with these contests because the guy is not doing a full push-up. He's more or less vibrating, and barely going back up at all. You can spot these push-ups because they become hard to count or keep track of, because they blend into each other and the range of motion is so small.
One should be pushing themselves up almost all the way into a hand plank position. If you want to test this for yourself, your eye level in the 'down' position should be pretty different than your eye level in the 'up' position. If you find your eye level is not moving so much, or only inches, you need to push back up further.
You will get more bang for your buck doing it the proper way. And your "rep count" may suffer, but so what? It's better to do a less, full reps the correct way, then crank out more "pulse" reps the "almost correct way".
Once I see a contest where the range of motion is full, I will take that contest a little more seriously.:-)
But more importantly, fixing your form will be more beneficial to your fitness goals. And this really should be what it's all about.
A push-up should be a staple in any serious exercise routine for men and women.
However, to get the full benefit of it, you really need to do a full range of motion. The problem I see with a lot of push-ups, and this is mostly done by men, is that they sacrifice a full range of motion in order to crank out more reps, or to finish more quickly.
Specifically, when one does a regular push-up, they should lower their chest almost to the ground, but not actually touch the ground, then push themselves all the way back up. I see too many men doing short, choppy push-ups, barely pushing themselves back up at all. These are called 'pulses' and they have their place in certain routines, but a pulse is more of a vibration. A full, regular push-up is with the full range of motion, and it should be done this way to get the full benefit. One should be pushing up at least until their tricep muscle (the "horseshoe muscle") is fully flexed.
I've seen several push-up "contests", where the object is to crank out as many push-ups as one can in a certain amount of time, and the push-ups in these contests are often done as pulses, ie-the guy is not pushing himself all the way back up. I've always had a slight problem with these contests because the guy is not doing a full push-up. He's more or less vibrating, and barely going back up at all. You can spot these push-ups because they become hard to count or keep track of, because they blend into each other and the range of motion is so small.
One should be pushing themselves up almost all the way into a hand plank position. If you want to test this for yourself, your eye level in the 'down' position should be pretty different than your eye level in the 'up' position. If you find your eye level is not moving so much, or only inches, you need to push back up further.
You will get more bang for your buck doing it the proper way. And your "rep count" may suffer, but so what? It's better to do a less, full reps the correct way, then crank out more "pulse" reps the "almost correct way".
Once I see a contest where the range of motion is full, I will take that contest a little more seriously.:-)
But more importantly, fixing your form will be more beneficial to your fitness goals. And this really should be what it's all about.
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