Fat Melting Cardio in Minutes!

24 August, 2010 4:27 PM Posted by Albert K. Park
, 1 comments


                          Think about the word “cardio”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Did you just cringe visualizing yourself pounding pavement, enduring an agonizing lactic acid nightmare? Or maybe you didn’t even get to the visualization and just started laughing a little to yourself. It can be really easy to skip out on cardio activities; I am amazed at the level of creativity in some clients when coming up with excuses. The biggest one of course is some variation of not having time.
                       
Client: “I don’t have 30 extra minutes let alone an hour to do cardio.”

Albert: “Well that is perfect!”

Client: “Say What?”

 I have discovered that clients at my gym achieve the fastest results with the shortest cardio workouts. It’s pretty self explanatory, the higher your intensity in training, the more calories you burn every minute. This is unlike long-aerobic cardio; an intense pace can jack up your metabolism for hours even after you workout. This means your burning blubber even when you’re sleeping.
To tackle your creativity with excuses on time, I am going to give you the shortest cardio workouts ever! These are highly effective and what we call “finishers” at my gym. Try incorporating one at the end of your workout because they do live up to their name. An important aspect to consider is intensity. Your intensity needs to be at an all time high because of the short length in these workouts. You get out what you put in.

Use these exercises to start melting fat off your frame!

Leg Matrix

                Perform all the exercises back to back until finished recording how long it takes you to finish. Rest 40-70 seconds and keep track of your rest time as well so you can slowly start to lower it as you progress. After your rest, repeat the Leg Matrix trying to beat your previous time.    

     1.   Body Weight Squat x 36 reps
      
     2.   Body Weight alternating Lunges x 20 reps each leg
     
     3.   Jumping Jacks x 40 reps
     
     4.   Body Weight Jump Squats x 36 reps
     

Squat Sample
This finisher is one of my favorites and is also known as the “Booty Blaster” at my gym. Repeat all the way through with no rest for 2-3 rounds.

     1.   Body Jump Squats for 20 seconds.
- Lower your body until you see your thighs parallel with the floor. From this position jump as high as you can.

     2.   Body weight squats x 20 seconds
- Lower your body until you see your thighs parallel with the floor. Return the standing position and make note of finishing all the way through with your hips.

     3.   Isometric squat and hold x 30 seconds
- Lower your body until you see your thighs parallel with the floor, and hold. Hold this position for the complete 30 seconds, focusing on keeping form tight and staying down in the squat.


Climb Your Way Down
Alternate between option 1 and option 2. Go from exercise 1 directly to exercise 2 without resting. For the first round, do 10 repetitions of each exercise. For round two, perform 9 reps. Then do 8 reps for you third round. Try to go as low as you can, or until you reach zero. Don’t rest until you go as low as you can. Once you are able to get down to zero fairly easy, start with 11 reps for the next week.

Option 1
1. Tuck Jumps
            - From a standing position squat slightly and jump straight into the air. Try to bring your knees to your chest while in the air. Land with knees slightly bent.

2. Burpees
            - Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms just at your sides. Next, push the hips back, bend the knees, and lower your body as deep as you can into a squat placing your hands in front of you on the ground.  Your next move is to kick your legs all the way back so you’re in a pushup position. Quickly bring your legs back to a squat and stand up. Repeat quickly.


Option 2
     1.     Body Weight Squat Jump
     
     2.     Pushup or Explosive Pushup
-       In a pushup up position, make sure your knuckles are aligned with the top of your shoulders. Check your body to make sure there is straight line from your ankles to your head. Lower your body until your chest is 2 inches off the floor. Push yourself up with enough force that your hands leave the floor.



So, how much time do you have again? 

Have you been getting your buffalo?

16 August, 2010 11:47 PM Posted by Albert K. Park
, 0 comments

                Trying to meet your protein requirements everyday can be a challenge. Your daily protein shakes can only satisfy your hunger so much, right? Well I got one dish that is packed with protein and is guaranteed to make your taste buds run wild like the buffalo you will be eating! 


                Here is what you will need:

1. 1 lb of organic grass fed Bison or Buffalo
2. Green Peppers
3. Mushrooms
4. 4-6 eggs
5. Onions
6. Feta Cheese
7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8. Whatever else you like in a breakfast scramble

                Directions:
    
    1. Cook the ground bison over medium heat using extra virgin olive oil in the pan. Lightly season as it cooks and be carefully watch the meat because bison cooks fast!

    2. In a small bowl mix up 2 whole eggs and up to 4 egg whites. Lightly season with salt and pepper.

    3. In another pan over medium heat sauté green peppers, mushrooms, onions, and any other ingredients you like for a just a few minutes.

    4. Put all ingredients into pan with cooked bison. Now scramble all the goods together.

    5. Last step is to sprinkle a little feta cheese over the top.

    Now enjoy!

        This buffalo/bison scramble is a protein rich meal that you can enjoy anytime of the day. One of my favorite meals is breakfast, why not enjoy it as a post workout meal or your dinner. Here's a little rundown of the protein facts. Each egg contains about 6 grams of protein and your bison will contain about 23g for every 4 oz! Nothing like a protein boost to help promote lean muscle mass and shock your metabolism.

  Fact you should know: You burn about 30% of the calories in protein from digestion.

       Try this recipe out and please share any cool new twists you add!

  

What's On My I Pod Playlist!

05 August, 2010 10:55 PM Posted by Albert K. Park
, 1 comments



            Let me get one thing clear, I’m not that guy in the gym with the cut off t-shirt and the Bicep I Pod holder doing nothing but curls. Well not anymore, now I do have the ability to pump the music from our Bose I Pod deck, one awesome piece of machine that packs a hell of punch. Music is pretty important because it has the ability to set the atmosphere for your training session. So here it is, my workout playlist. Please don’t judge my style.


      1.     Cinderella Man & Love the way you Lie – Eminem                                                                                                           
      2.     Hero Will Drown – Story of the Year   
      3     Hit the Floor  - Linking Park
      4.     Memories – David Guetta
      5.     Hit em Up & California – 2 pac
      6.     Let the Bodies Hit the Floor – Drowning Pool
      7.     Way Away – Yellowcard
      8.     Anything Nirvana (Lance Armstrong trains to this too!)
      9.     Where da Hood at – DMX
     10.  Fireman – Lil Wayne
     11.  Mad World – Gary Jules
        These are some of the songs that will always be on my I pod. Let me know if there are any I should add that are your favorites!

2 Moves to Stay Toned for Women!

04 August, 2010 2:50 PM Posted by Albert K. Park
, 0 comments


            I love the fact that women are ambitious in achieving fitness goals. Once they decide that they want to improve their bodies and fitness levels it’s hard to slow them down. I consistently get asked which exercises they can do to accelerate results. I break it into one upper body and one lower body movement that requires no equipment but works the entire body.
                        The upper body movement is the traditional pushup and the lower body movement is the single leg squat. These two exercises combine for a powerful tool in gaining lean muscle mass and shedding excess pounds. After learning and incorporating this dynamic duo of strength work into you training, you won’t be able to workout without them.

                        I know what you may be thinking I can’t do a pushup and I don’t even know where to begin with a single leg squat. Count backwards from 5 and woo saa because I am going to give you regressions for each exercises to begin before moving onto these two movements. Perform the two regressions for 2 weeks around 2-3 times in the week. Then move on to the variation for the following 2 weeks for the same frequency. After the 4 week transition, you will be rockin these two exercises out in a lean and toned body that you’ve earned.

Pushups
Variation #1
Wall Pushups

        This is a great regression to start with if you haven’t done a pushup since Full House was the hottest show. Stand facing a wall about 2-3 feet out and extend your arms in front of you. Lean forward slightly until you can place your palms flat against the wall surface. Bend your arms until your nose comes pretty close to touching the wall and push out. This will be one rep. Repeat for 15 reps up to 2-3 sets.

Variation #2
Knee Pushup

         After you have mastered the wall pushup you are ready to graduate up to the knee pushups. In a pushup plank position lower your knees to the floor. Lift your feet back and make sure to align the tops of your knuckles with your shoulders. Your hands should be close to or a little wider than shoulder width apart. Lower yourself bending your arms close to 90 degrees. Push up back to the start. This is one rep. Again repeat for 15 reps up to 2-3 sets.

Graduation
Push Up

            Both those variations are for you to get to this point and turn into an official pushup machine. A lot of my female clients make pushups a fitness goal and in being eager to reach them they jump to quickly to the real thing. One problem is that they don’t get the form right or get discouraged in only being able to do a few reps. The variations above will help you progress at a consistent pace while developing all the necessary strength components that will help you do real thing.

            From the pushup plank position bring your feet so they are close together. Lower down toward the floor, just as you would in the knee pushups, but now with the knees up and the legs extended. Push up back up to start. This is one rep. Repeat for 2-3 sets for reps of 15. You can decrease the difficulty level by spreading your feet apart.

Single Leg Squat

Variation 1
Static Split Stance Lunges

            Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, take a big step back with your left foot. Lower yourself straight down until your right knee is 90 degrees, then push back up. Remain in this split stance position while lowering yourself. This is one rep, repeat for 8-12 reps and for 2-3 sets.

Variation 2
Straight Leg Lunges

            Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Take a step back with your left and sink down until your right knee is 90 degrees. Keep the left leg fairly straight, use a slight bend if you need. Keep your back straight and chest up while trying to reach down and touch your ankles.

Graduation
Single Leg Squat

            Some trainers will require you to balance on one leg and do the squat. I think that this is dangerous and super hard. My solution is an elevated single leg squat. For this you will need a bench, a box, a log, anything that is about knee height.

            With the bench about 1-2 feet behind you, lift your right leg and place it on the bench, toes facing down. Lower yourself straight down until the left leg is 90 degrees then push up. This is one rep. Repeat for 8-12 reps and for 2-3 sets for each leg.

            You now have the 2 workouts that will help you stay toned, get lean, and most importantly reach your goals. It’s your body, keep it lean and healthy! 

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