Drill of the day "Plank Row"

Today we focused on another of my favorite drills. 

The "Plank row" hits the chest, shoulders, triceps, traps, lats, biceps, and posterior deltoids. All while forcing your core to work as a stabilizer. 

Start in push-up position with dumbbells in hand, hands shoulder width apart, sprawl feet out so legs are at open about 40 degrees

 

Lower yourself down until you upper and lower arms are at 90 degrees 

 Push up, raise left arm until it passes your should, repeat with right

Set the field up into 4 quarters. Total length should be about 50 yards. Separated into 12 1/2 yards sections.

Start at 1st marker. 

Perform the plank row for 30 seconds with dumbbells ranging in weight from 8 - 25 lbs. (Choose weight according to your ability) Once completed, stand with dumbbells and lunge to next marker. Repeat at every quarter. Once the last marker is reached, stand with dumbbells and run back to start. Rest 1 minute repeat 3x sets.

CHECK THE VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AFpldfWvTA&list=UUMoOW4VAi2mr6d6agqx5WRQ&index=1&feature=plcp

The Gut Check Mile

Simple. Once a month we run 1 mile as fast as we can. I'll record  times and post them here. PA-YOW!!!

Ellie age 57 time 8:45

Melisa age 33 time 6:45

Jen age 29 time 13:03

 Lisa age 29 time 14:04

Chris age 37 time 8:11

Diane age 47 time 8:13

Meredith age 29 time 7:49

 Jennifer age 54 time 9:43

 Amy age 33 time 7:58

Spot light "Ellie"

Ellie started taking my boot camp classes 18  months ago. When she started she had never run and couldn't do many of the most basic drills: Push ups, sit ups, bear crawl, dead lift etc...

Where most people would have seen the class's level of intensity and been intimidated, Ellie saw a challenge.

She became a regular at my 530 am classes, taking everything I could dish out. Olympic lifting, plyometrics, Muay Thai drills, full sprints, long flat runs, short hill runs, and a large black man screaming inches away from her face. All with a smile (most of the time)

Ellie is 57 years old. She can do three one minutes sets of military press with a 45 lb Olympic bar, three 20 rep sets of push-ups,  has dropped 35 lbs (and counting) and just finished her 2nd half marathon. 

She says "I'm running away from getting old, and so far its working."

She quotes US Olympian Pattiesue Plumer "Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us find out what we're made of."

Trust me Ellie, You're made of pretty stern stuff!!!

Ellie found fitness later in life and has been born again HARD!

Whenever I'm training 40 and 50 somethings and I hear "Man, this is just too hard. I'm too old." I give them the "Are you effin kidding me face" and say

 "Have you met Ellie?"

Glutes, Quads, and Delts

Today we focused on shoulders, thighs, and the booty. We did some low intensity lifting drills and some high intensity intervals. 

Its important to note that before we do any lifting or high intensity training, we do a 10 to 15 minute warm up. 

Our 1st drill was a barbell squat and military press/ lunge super set: 

1) Participants stand holding an Olympic bar at shoulder level resting the bar on the shoulders.
2) Start the movement by doing a 1/3 to 1/2 squat. This will help build momentum for the press.
3) Finish the moment by standing up completely and pressing the bar above your head. repeat for 20 secs.
4) lower bar behind head and lunge 12-13 yards. Repeat  4x. Distance covered should be 50 yards.

Check the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J82DEDC4oA&list=UUMoOW4VAi2mr6d6agqx5WRQ&index=2&feature=plcp

Our second drill was the Frog jump and resistance sprint:

1) Participants partner up. Partner 1 holds a fitness tube (band) around the others waist.
2) Partner 2 will hold arm straight above head and perform the "frog jump" for 30 seconds.
3) After 30 seconds partner 2 will sprint 50 yards while partner 1 holds the band and applies resistance.
4) Partners switch places and repeat 3x

Check the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuiFbjKfak&list=UUMoOW4VAi2mr6d6agqx5WRQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Black Bean Island

Legumes are a big source of protein in a vegan diet. Kidney beans, lima beans, black eyed peas, soy beans, and  lentils are all great. I eat them every chance i get, but my favorite by far are black beans.

 They are nutrient dense, taste great with very little effort, and they're cheap.
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=2
You can get a 5 lb sack at pretty much any bulk bin store for around 3 bucks. I cook 2 or 3 lbs at a time and once cooked they last about a week. So you definitely get you moneys worth. Plus canned beans are kind of grodey. That goop you have to pour out and rinse off just ain't right.

All you need for the beans is fresh garlic (3-4cloves), ground cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt.
I don't own a pressure cooker or a Crock Pot so we're doing this old school!

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beans. There should be about twice as much water as there are beans. The beans will expand and most of the water will steam away. Drop the heat down to simmer or as low as it will go. Put a lid on and leave them alone. After about  for 3-4 hours I like to go in with a potato masher and bust them up. The beans that have cooked faster will break apart and make a nice thick broth. This is when you'll add garlic and all seasonings (Season to taste) Cover them and let cook for another 3 hours.When they're done, the beans should be soft and there will be a thick black broth. Voila!  Black bean soup.

You can serve it with Quinoa, brown, or white rice. I used white rice today because it holds shape the best. Put the cooked rice in a cup to form a little dome and dice up some tomato and avocado

Welcome to Black Bean Island