Sportband Appreciation

By The Viking

We call this “Sportband Appreciation” because sportbands are an easy and effective training tool. They’re very inexpensive, you can pack them anywhere and they work for everyone. If you’re never worked with sportbands before, give them a try.

This workout is very basic, but depending on the resistance and intensity you use, it can be very challenging. Go through all the exercises once, then repeat if you feel up to the challenge.

The resistance for these exercises is determined by the size of the band you use. Start light and move up accordingly.

Intensity may be increased in a number of ways:

1.) Using heavier resistance

2.) Limiting rest time between sets

3.) Increasing repetition speed

NOTE: Limiting rest time includes the time between switching sides, if applicable, as well as switching exercises.

WORKOUT

Sportband Horizontal Rows

Right Side: 15 Rows

Left Side: 15 Rows

(Rest :45)

Sportband Chest Press

15 presses (both arms simultaneously)

(Rest :45)

Sportband Squat (band supported behind the neck, across the shoulders)

15 Squats

(rest :30)

15 Squats

(Rest :45)

Sportband Overhead Press

Right Side: 10 presses

Left Side: 10 Presses

(Rest :45)

Sportband Deadlift

15 Deadlifts

(rest :30)

15 Deadlifts

REPEAT 2X

At Hybrid Fitness, we’ve always been a big fan of Iron Woody sport bands (www.ironwoodyfitness.com) We’ve been using them for years and discovered a few things…they’re incredibly durable, guaranteed for a year and come in a variety of sizes to accommodate ANY level of strength. Iron Woody has a lot of other great gear so check them out and see what you find.

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CLASSIC H.I.T. WORKOUT

Following up from the awesome articles from Dr. Ken, John Wood, and Jim Bryan, I offer a straight-forward, no nonsense workout. No magic, no gadgets, just hard work on a handful of basic exercises. You should be able to get this workout done in under thirty minutes. If you are following the instructions below, this should see you breathing like a freight-train and totally spent by the time you make it through.

To begin the workout, skip rope, row  or do other light, total-body movements for 5 minutes followed by an easy, dynamic stretching routine. Then complete a set of neck* exercises . Then an abdominal / Core** routine. Once you have a sweat going, you are warmed-up and can begin the resistance training.

You will notice that the repetition ranges have 2 numbers. If an athlete reaches momentary muscular fatigue before he reaches the lower number on the rep-range the weight is too heavy. Likewise if he reaches momentary muscular fatigue beyond the higher number then it is time for him to increase the load.

Train with high intensity, push yourself to the point of momentary muscular failure and use just 1 set. I am a big believer in the 1 set protocol and am confident that one set is all that is required for success.

Strength train on Mondays and Thursdays, and do agility / conditioning work on Tuesdays and Fridays.

 

1. Leg Press or Squat 15-20
2. Leg Extensions 8-12 Seated or standing
3. Leg Curls 8-12 Seated or standing
4. Calf Raise 8-12 Seated or standing
5. Chest press 8-12 Dumbbell, machine, or straight bar.
6. Push-up
7. Back Row 8-12 Dumbbell, machine, or straight bar.
8. Shoulder Press 8-12 Dumbbell, machine, or straight bar.
9. Chin-ups / Reverse Grip Pull downs 8-12
10. Dead Lift 12-15 Dumbbell, machine, Hex or straight bar.
11. Dips / Triceps Extensions 8-12 Dumbbell, machine, or straight bar.
12. Bicep Curls 6-10 Dumbbell, machine, or straight bar.

If you are not used to training all out (and I meet very few who are) than I would ease into it by adjusting the rest intervals between sets as follows:

Week 1 – 2 = 2 minutes rest between sets
Week 3 – 4 = 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Week 5 – 6 = 1 minutes rest between sets
Week 7 and beyond, attempt to move between exercise with as little rest as possible. Pause only long enough to move from exercise to exercise or to change weight etc.

* Neck series = One set each of four-way neck exercise + any shrug movement. Resistance for the neck may be applied with a neck harness using Bands, or cables and or manual resistance etc.

** AB / Core series = One set each of Hip-curl / Low Back Ext / Resisted Rotation

For ideas for Conditioning work, search through our archives.

PAU for NOW

TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
www.blackjackfitness.com

Exercise of the Week: Sportband Squats (w/ video)

I ran some of my bootcamp folks through a number of conditioning drills this week using a variety of sportbands.  These babies are not the ones you get from the local sporting goods store.  You get them online from places like Iron Woody Fitness.   They vary in resistance from a few pounds up to 200+ pounds.  They are the great equalizer when it comes to resistance training.  Use the right band with the right exercise and it will challenge absolutely ANYONE.  I guarantee that.

One of my favorite movements is the Sportband Squat.  It’s an awesome drill for developing strength, power and endurance in the legs.  Trust me when I say it’s a lot harder than it looks.  Here’s how it’s performed:

• Step inside a sportband and secure it under both feet placed shoulder width apart.

• Loop the other end of the band over the head and allow it to rest on the shoulders behind the neck.

• Bend the knees and press the hips backward, lowering the body to a 90 degree bend at the knee.

• Extend the legs and stand upright, keeping the eyes and head forward and the back in stable position.

To see a video of the sportband squat from they Hybrid Fitness video library, click here.

START:

FINISH:

A little resistance can actually go a long way with this drill, so keep that in mind when you give it a shot.  Start light and progress up as your strength allows.

More great sportband drills and a big announcement or two forthcoming so keep checking back!
Until next time, keep training hard!

Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
www.blackjackfitness.com

Great Total Body Exercise!

I was working with a client this morning at her home.  Space and equipment are limited so we need to get creative with the workouts.  I’m not a huge fan of mixing things up just for the sake of doing something new, though.  I’d rather stick with movements that work and get results, as opposed to doing some novel “flavor of the month” exercise just to be different.

One of the staple exercises is the dumbbell clean deadlift & shrug.  As well as being a challenging, effective exercise, it’s also a key component of many Olympic weightlifting techniques.  You don’t need to be an Olympic lifter to incorporate this movement into your routine and best of all, you can do it with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, sportsbands, etc.  Seriously.  Depending on the weight you use, the clean deadlift & shrug can be a stand-alone exercise or a great component to a conditioning circuit.  It’s up to you.

The video below represents the movement using a barbell, but I suggest you try it with dumbbells or whatever training tool you have at your disposal.  The movement and mechanics are the virtually the same, but will vary slightly depending on what you’re holding.  You’ll feel this in your legs, back, traps, shoulders and arms.

Try supplementing this movement into your next workout and see for yourself how challenging it is.  Feedback is always good, so please post your comments below.  If you’ve got a question, we’ll get back to you right away.

Thanks and keep training hard!

Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv

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

Makeshift Gym + Intervals = ???

Makeshift gym + Intervals = Success!

Thought I’d share another success story for you. I’ve got a client who, together with her husband, make a very comfortable living. Without going into detail about their financial situation, suffice it to say they live in a million-dollar home and drive luxury cars. Why not, they’ve earned it!

They could easily afford memberships to the ritziest clubs in the city. Instead, they opt for a different situation. The wife trains with me a couple times per week. We begin most sessions with a short warm-up run, followed by a set of high-intensity sprint intervals. We run back to the house and hit the “gym”. The gym is a small section of the garage with a handful of equipment. Literally, it consists of a sandbag, a kettlebell, a medicine ball, a couple sets of dumbbells and a selection of sportbands. Why work out in her garage when she could be working out in style and comfort at a club? Simply because she’s only focussed on results. Who cares how big a gym’s pool is or what kind of bottled water the sell (overcharge for)? If you’re goal is to get in shape, it’s not about where you train, but how you train.

The intervals, along with the resistance training, has transformed her body (almost) back to what it was in college. It has nothing to do with the brand of cardio equipment, the size of the fitness room or the price of the membership. Honestly, the total cost of ALL her equipment is still less than one month’s membership at the top clubs in the city and easily less than 2 months at mid-level clubs…including the YMCA! Plus, she doesn’t have to drive anywhere or factor in that extra time in the morning. (BTW, thanks to Iron Woody Fitness for providing the gear at great prices!)

So the bottom line is, it’s not where you train but how you train and how HARD you train. You can get instant gratification from your training, but it’s always going to be directly related to the work you put into it. If you train hard and train consistently, you will succeed. If you need to hire a trainer to keep you on task, do it, but make sure you’re getting the most out of the time. If you don’t feel like you’re being pushed hard enough, speak up…it’s your money, after all.

So quit reading this blog and get training! Well…maybe read a few more posts, forward the URL onto your friends and family, THEN get to training. 🙂

Keep training hard!

Jason K.
www.hybridfitness.tv

P.S.: If you haven’t yet, take a look at Iron Woody Fitness. I can’t say enough good things about them. I purchased a few sets of bands several years ago and I still use the same bands today. Trust me, they’ve seen their fair share of use, but they continue endure the punishment I throw at them. That goes for the bells I’ve purchased as well. Bottom line is, they have great products, superior customer service and rockin’ prices. Yes, we’re an Iron Woody affiliate and proud of it.

Low-Tech Tools = High-Performance Results

We’ve posted a number of blog articles about the variety of training tools available. Additionally, we’ve posted dozens of “low-tech” training programs at hybridfitness.tv, which involve everything from sandbags to sportbands to kettlebells to bodyweight. Why do I refer to them as “low-tech”? Because they don’t have a bunch of cables or attachments, they don’t cost thousands of dollars, they’re not difficult to learn and they take up very little space. On the contrary, they’re easy to use, easy to transport, inexpensive to purchase and you need very little space to train.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’ve been going to the gym since I was 16. I love to run intervals on a treadmill or push my limits on a Concept 2 rower as much as anyone and I love to load up the lat pulldown or cable cross machines and see how much weight I can move. If I’ve got an extra $8000 laying around and a few hundred square feet of extra space at my house, I could get myself a couple of these machines. But for 99% of the population, the prospect of outfitting a home gym is out of the question.

Where does that leave you? Easy. Look to the low-tech solution.

With a few different bands of varying resistance, you can replicate most machine movements. Throw in a kettlebell or two and you’ve just expanded your options. Top it off with a couple sandbags and you literally have everything you need to get in shape, increase your muscular strength and endurance and skyrocket your conditioning.

We don’t sell these products directly, but everyone at Hybrid Fitness has purchased them for our training clients as well as personal use! With that said, we recommend you try them for yourself. You’ll be amazed how challenging an overhead squat is with tiny resistance band, or how a simple set of kettlebell Up & Overs will test your mental and physical limits. Visit our Training and Exercise of the Week sections for lots more exercise ideas.

Are you ready to give low-tech training a shot? We recommend you look to Iron Woody Fitness. Their customer service is second-to-none and they have everything you need at the best prices on the net. Plus, they’re just great people.

Remember: You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get in the best shape of your life. All you need is a little guidance, some motivation and some imagination.

Good luck and keep training hard!

Jason K.
www.hybridfitness.tv