New FREE E-Book Download!

Here’s a link for our new FREE e-book called “Training With Bags & Bands”.  The book talks a bit about the benefits of sandbag and sportband training and includes some killer sandbag and sportband workouts, along with images of each movement.

Download the FREE e-book here

Got questions?  Post them to the comments section.

Hybrid Fitness Team
www.hybridfitness.tv

Shake it Up

Let’s face it we all need stamina in one form or another. If we are competitive athletes we need to know that we have the capacity to perform at our best for what ever the duration of the event in question. If we are just health and fitness enthusiasts, we still want to know that we can run, jump and play, any time we want for as long as we want.

Many people feel that they must perform 45-60 minutes of sustained activity in order to build an effective and useful base of stamina. They will choose an activity such as running or cycling and then attempt to build up their capacity to sustain this activity for longer and longer periods. I don’t know about you but for me this seems like torture. Unless you are a marathon runner or some other type of long distance endurance athlete this type of training is simply not needed.

There are many different ways to improve stamina:

* Distance Running
* Sprinting
* Stair / Hill Running
* Rope Skipping
* Sparring (boxing, kick-boxing, etc)
* Circuit Weight Training
* Cross Country Running
* Bag / Pad training (Heavy-bag, Thai Pads, Focus Mitts)
* Swimming

Any one of the above mentioned activities could be used to attain improved stamina or endurance. Instead of just picking one from the list and attempting to build up to an hour of work, why not combine them into a series or circuit of brief, focused efforts? By doing this you can avoid much of the boredom (as well as potential repetitive stress) associated with plodding along in the same activity for 45-60 minutes. Think of it as Hybrid Cross Training.

Example Circuit 1:

1. Sprint repeats. 1 minute x 4 (rest 2.5 minutes)
2. Jump Rope. 2 minutes x 3 (rest 1 minute)
3. Bag / Pad work. 2 minutes x 3 (rest 1 minute)
4. Split squat jumps. 4 x 30 seconds (rest 1.5 minutes)

Example Circuit 2:

1. 1 mile run *A.F.A.P. (rest 50% of run time)
2. 50 yard sprints. x 4 (rest 3x run time)
3. Bag / Pad work. 2 minutes x 3 (rest 1 minute)
4. Max Hill Sprints. 15 seconds x 5 ( rest 60 seconds)

Circuit 1. above will take less then 40 minutes (including the rest intervals). Circuit 2. will vary according to your current speed and fitness level, but should still come in under the 40 minute mark. As your fitness improves and recovery time decreases, circuit 2. will become shorter and shorter.

Give this type of Hybrid Cross Training a try. I am confident you will find this style of training not only more fun but that you are able to work harder during each effort bout due to the brief rests periods that are allowed.

So remember if you want to experience your fitness rapidly improving in minimal time be sure to Shake It Up!

Pau for Now

TAKU

*A.F.A.P. = As Fast As Possible

Exercise of the Week: Sandbag Cleans

I recently posted a different “Exercise of the Week” just a few days ago….but hopefully none of you will mind another one.

Sandbag training has really gained in popularity over the last couple of years.  I hesistate to call it a trend, because I think sandbag training has the potential for much more longevity.  I think this for a few different reasons.  Among other things, sandbags are durable, portable, extremely versatile and there is a bag to literally accommodate any strength range.  Yes, I said ANY strength range.  You can literally push, pull, toss and drag them in limitless movement variations.  Use them for developing strength, conditioning, power, endurance, agility and coordination.  What can I say….we’re big fans of sandbag training at Hybrid Fitness.

One of the exercises I like to impose on my unsuspecting clientele is the Sandbag Clean.  It requires the perfect balance of strenght, power, corrdination and focus.  It works multiple joints and muscles simultaneously and really gets the heart pumping.  Are you convinced yet?  If not, you’ll have to try it for yourself and see what I mean.

• Stand in front of a sandbag with your weight evenly distributed on both feet and knees slightly bent.

• Keeping your back flat, bend at the hips and knees and reach down to grab the sandbag.

• Keeping head up and back flat, explosively stand erect by pushing the ground away with your legs as you simultaneously pull / clean the sandbag up in front of your body and catch it at shoulder height.

• Your knees should be bent to approximately a 1/4 squat position during the catch phase.

• Lower the sandbag to the starting position.

Here’s the breakdown of what the sandbag clean looks like:

Sandbag Clean "start"

Sandbag Clean "middle"

Sandbag Clean "finish"

Sometimes, pictures just aren’t enough..so here’s a video showing the clean in real time.  It also comes with a pulldown exercise description, too. (click the link or the graphic to view the video)

We don’t sell our own sandbags so if you’re looking to pick some up, we suggest you go here.

Got questions?  Post them to the comments section and we’ll answer them ASAP.

Keep training hard!

Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv

P.S: You can view and create videos like the one above by utilizing the video exercise library and workout builder from Hybrid Fitness.  Join the community and see what the buzz is about.

Exercise of the Week: Sportband Overhead Squat

As most any educated member of the fitness industry will tell you, a squat is much more than just a leg exercise.  In fact, it could be considered a “total body” exercise.  Many muscles in both the upper and lower body are fully active during a squat.

Now lets factor in a sportband.  Sportbands are a great method of applying resistance.  We talk about them a lot on the blog and the main site.  They work well because of their portability and durability, but also because they can provide resistances from a few pounds to several hundred pounds.  Seriously, a band that provides 200lbs of resistance can practically fit in your coat pocket.  It might look a little weird, but it’ll fit.  I’ll spare you the sportband backstory in this post, but suffice it to say, we’re big fans of sportbands for a number of reasons.

One of the great exercises you can do with them is the Overhead Squat.  The link below will take you to a video from the Hybrid Fitness video database with a full explanation of the movement.

My recommendation would be to start with a light resistance band and move up from there.  Try a few repetitions and make sure your shoulders and back are stable.  Be sure to move slowy through the motion until you get ccomfortable with body position and mechanics.

Overhead Squat Video

Give it a shot and tell us what you think.  If you need to know where to get ultra-high quality sportbands, we recommend you go here. Tell them Hybrid Fitness sent you.

If you want to create videos like this for yourself for yourself, your clients or a blog/website, go here.

Until next time, keep training hard!

Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv