Archive for the ‘CrossFit’ Category

Rocky Workout: Sylvester Stallone’s Crossfit Routine

02 Mar

Tags: Best Movies Of The Year, Close Grip Bench Press, crossfit, Dead Lifts, Grip Bench, Hammer Curls, Incline Dumbbell Press, Incline Flyes, Injury Risk, intensity workout, Jump Rope, muscle workout, Proper Nutrients, Safety Bar, Skull Crushers, Squat Rack, Stallone Sylvester, Staying In Shape, Stiff Legged Deadlifts, Sylvester Stallone, T Bar Rows, Workout Regimens
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Rocky Workout: Sylvester Stallone’s Crossfit Routine

We don’t know him personally but the last Rocky movie was one of the best movies of the year. What’s not to love about a guy who keeps coming back from setback after setback, only to always come out on top?

Sylvester Stallone is no stranger to staying in shape. Mr. Stallone has one of the most impressive workout regimens in Hollywood and don’t think for a second his abs and definition didn’t play a large part in the success of Rambo and Rocky. So, how did he do it? How did he look like a rock at an age much further down the road than Rocky I? Well, hypothetically speaking, let’s look at how anybody, including Mr. Stallone, could achieve a world-class physique later in life or after years of lifting when “changing” is difficult to do.

The key is to shock the body into changing, presenting stimuli to initiate change and the proper nutrients and supplements to make sure we have the tools needed to do so. If you interested in trying a gut wrenching workout that would make Rocky tired, here’s your chance.

Monday: Chest

Incline Dumbbell Press 3 x 8-10
Incline Flyes 3 x 8-10
Dips 3 x BW to failure
Pullovers 2 x 12

Tuesday: Legs

Clean and Jerk 5 x 5
Squats 3 x 10
Partial Deadlift 5 x 5

Use a safety bar in a squat rack and begin the lift from upper shin level. This reduces injury risk and is nearly as effective as full dead lifts.

Stiff Legged Deadlifts 2 x 10
Calf Raises 2 x 50

Jump Rope for 3 minutes and if you stumble just keep going until the three minute mark. Each week add 1 minute to the session.

Wednesday: Biceps & Shoulders

Barbell/Dumbbell Curls 4 x 10
Incline Hammer Curls 3 x 8-10
Military Press 4 x 10
Lateral Raises 4 x 10
Reverse Flyes 2 x 15

Thursday: Triceps

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 10
Skull Crushers 3 x 10
Dips 2 x BW to failure

Friday: Back

Lat Pulldowns 2 x 10 + x reps after each set
Pullups 2 x BW to failure
T Bar rows (drop set) 1 x 10/drop 30% then continue to failure
Seated Cable Rows 4 x 12
Bent Over Barbell Rows (drop set) 1 x 10/drop 30% then continue to failure

Get the best iphone app for fitness and app for working out at http://www.DragonTortise.com This fitness app explores functional fitness and training at its best. Get more fitness tips and workout ideas from http://www.DragonTortise.com/workouts/

De-clutter your mind and de-stress with our Relaxation Music and meditation App, Binaural Beats App at http://www.WhatIsListening.com , read more inspiring stories at http://www.WhatIsListening.com/Blog/

Crossfit Weightlifting: Improve your Muscles with Electrifying Hardcore Workout

02 Mar

Tags: crossfit muscles, exercises, Failure, Frustration, hardcore workout, High Intensity Training, Many Different Ways, Max Weight, Mistake, Muscle Group, Muscle Mass, Muscles, Pathway, Regression, Repetition, Repetitions, Resistance, Six Months, Strength Gains, Tissues, Weight Lifting, workout
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Crossfit Weightlifting: Improve your Muscles with Electrifying Hardcore Workout

For individuals who have been training 2-to-3 times per week, for six months or more and are looking for additional strength/size progress and gains, then I have one very important word for you … Intensity!

In order to increase strength and/or size in a well-conditioned person, a program that offers an overload of resistance with intensity emphasized, keeping you training in an anaerobic pathway must be implemented and maintained.

This involves fatiguing the intended muscle with intensity and to a degree in which it is not accustomed to on a regular basis. This can be done by fatiguing the muscle group being worked, by using a weight sufficient enough to fail the muscle within 30-90 seconds.

Most people when they have been exercising a while, make the mistake of changing things up by raising the number of repetitions they do; and for a well-conditioned individual, multiple sets of high repetition overloads are not sufficient enough to stimulate strength/size gains; nor do they recruit enough muscle mass to even cause a cardio-respiratory effect on the body.

This kind of training is generally ineffective (unless sports specific) at resulting in any kind of fitness or strength gains; and if the repetitions are too high, for too long can lead to over-use damage to the tissues, lack of results or regression, and frustration.

Well-trained persons should generally lower the repetitions to 6-12 using near maximal weight and/or utilize high intensity training techniques. This can be done in many different ways, and with many different exercises.

The workout is all about the basic implementation of advanced and high intensity training specifically on weight lifting. Focusing on using near max weight (as heavy as possible) and training each set to failure (completely unable to perform another rep with good form or at all) should be with proper professional guidance. This can be done in anywhere from 8 reps to 20 reps; but for one set only.

Madonna: The Life of being a Crossfit-Loving Celebrity

01 Mar

Tags: Brilliant Teachers, Brown Rice, Charity Work, crossfit, Daily Mail, daily workout, Day Six, exercise, Folk Medicine, Giving Birth, Japanese Folk, Longevity, Lourdes, Macrobiotic Diet, Macrobiotics, Madonna, Regimens, routine, Six Days, Stair Master, Traditional Cultures, Traditional Philosophy, Whole Foods, workouts
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Diet and Food, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Madonna: The Life of being a Crossfit-Loving Celebrity

How does she have the time with constant touring, 3 children, and charity work? Much of her fitness is done in the form of cardio, and more specifically, dancing. If you’ve ever been to one of her concerts, you’ll see that she’s more limber, suave and flexible, than most of the dancers half her age.

Madonna is very holistic in her approach to health and wellness. You’ll understand why she stays young and physically fit when you read about her diet and training regimens. By the time you finish this article, you will hopefully have developed a new found respect for her.

Madonna follows something known as “The Macrobiotic Diet.” Macrobiotics means “the way of longevity.” Long-lived traditional cultures drew from Oriental and Japanese folk medicine to create a version of their traditional philosophy of health.

Whole foods, such as brown rice, are central to a Macrobiotic diet. In the 20th century, a few creative and brilliant teachers emerged, such as the Kushis (who immigrated to the United States from Japan), who distilled the wide-ranging ideas and interpreted them for modern, urban, and industrialized life.

The Daily Mail in Britain reports that Madonna works out two hours a day, six days a week. Her first two sessions are Yoga/Pilates (discussed later in the article), and for her third session, after lunch, she chooses from a variety of options including karate, swimming, weightlifting, running, cycling, and occasionally horse riding (except several years ago, she broke some ribs horseback riding).

The Daily Mail claims she also uses a “Stair Master” in her office as she takes calls. She supposedly maintained a 45-minute-a-day “Stair Master” regime until the day before giving birth to her first child, Lourdes.

When someone has such limited time, as Madonna does, especially when she’s on the road, it would be advisable to condense one’s workouts. I say, pick 8-12 of your favorite exercises (1-2 per major body part: Chest, Back, Legs, Arms, Shoulders), and perform a circuit with them.

A circuit session consists of a series of exercises or stations performed in succession with minimal rest intervals in between; this cuts down considerably on time, which is probably important to someone with a schedule as busy as Madonna’s.

It works well for developing strength, endurance (both aerobic and anaerobic), flexibility and coordination. So the guidelines of circuit training are: 8-12 exercises, 12-15 reps per station, 50-70% of your one rep max, rest only as long as it takes to get from one station to the next, and 2-3 minutes rest between each circuit.

You can do a total of 1-3 full circuits depending on how much time you have. This full-body routine can be done 2-4x per week. Here’s an example of a circuit workout if you’re in a gym:

Warm up (5-10 minutes of cardio)
Dumbbell lunges
Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell Flyes
Dumbbell Overhead press
Dumbbell curls

So how do you find her workout routine? You don’t have to be a celebrity to engage yourself in crossfit activities. She is just an ordinary woman with extraordinary health workouts. Why not try?

Jessica Simpson’s Circuit Training and Crossfit Workout Activities

01 Mar

Tags: Burning Zone, crossfit, daily workout, Dukes Of Hazzard, exercise, Feminine Physique, Glutes, Gymnast, Happy Medium, health and fitness, Healthy Lifestyle, heart rate, Jessica Simpson, Lifestyle Balance, Ms Simpson, personal trainer, Resistance Training, routine, South Beach Diet, Squats And Lunges, Two Birds, Workout Routine, Yo Yo
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Diet and Food, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Jessica Simpson’s Circuit Training and Crossfit Workout Activities

Before her movies, Jessica Simpson was by no means out of shape. She had what they would call a bikini body, which is all there, but not athletically toned. She then enlisted the aid of a personal trainer and began a fitness crusade. Her regimen included working out for up to 2 hours a day, 6 days a week in order to get the look she wanted for The Dukes of Hazzard. And what a look it was, sporting legs that would be the envy of many a gymnast.

She incorporated a combination of running and resistance training into her workout routine, putting special emphasis on squats and lunges, which is most likely why those legs and glutes looked so great on the screen. Her diet was pretty simple; she followed the famous South Beach Diet, which is pretty much low carb and high

With all that training and hardcore dieting, you’d think that Jessica Simpson would have been able to keep that toned, feminine physique. However, I think she experienced the common case of over-training and yo-yo dieting. Her routine was not sustainable and she fell off the wagon.

My professional opinion is that Ms. Simpson shares this experience with a lot of women who need to find a happy medium, a healthy lifestyle balance. With the right amount of exercise (not too much, not too little) and a diet you can maintain year round anyone can keep up a good level of health and fitness.

Jessica Simpson’s Monday-Wednesday-Friday: Circuit Training and Crossfit Tips:

This is a great way to get in shape FAST! Because the pace at which you workout can be regulated by either yourself or your trainer and getting your heart rate into the ‘fat burning zone’ can be done quite easily.
Also, the resistance aspect of the exercises outlined below will tone and sculpt the physique to what is desired, so you are actually killing two birds with one stone so to speak. You are burning fat by keeping a good pace with little rest between exercises, and you are building lean muscle through the chosen exercises.
When designing a circuit training plan, it is important to ensure that the exercises are laid out in an appropriate order so as to maximize recovery in a particular muscle group, while keeping the intensity of the workout high.
This is done by following a very simple guideline of working the upper body; core to lower body. For example, we do pushups, working the chest, shoulders and arms. The next exercise would be abdominals or back, followed by a leg exercise.
From the exercises below, choose 3 from each section for your circuit. There are 9 exercises in all. Perform 4 sets of each one, getting 20 – 25 reps per exercise before moving on. Make sure to keep the format upper to middle to lower.

Circuit Training:

Upper Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Middle Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Lower Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Upper Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Middle Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Lower Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Upper Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Middle Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps
Lower Body Exercise – 4 sets of 20-25 reps

Celebrity Crossfit: Hugh Jackman’s Secrets for His Body Shape

01 Mar

Tags: Bench Press, Blockbuster, Body Shape, Bodybuilding Routine, Bread And Butter, Cable Crossover, crossfit, daily workout, exercise, Functional Fitness, General Jackman, Hugh Jackman, Incline Dumbbell Press, Iphone, Irish Ancestry, Ladies Man, Math Geniuses, People Magazine, routine, Sexiest Man, Tough Guys, Workout Program, X Man
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Celebrity Crossfit: Hugh Jackman’s Secrets for His Body Shape

Hollywood has had the privilege of having some rugged Australian tough guys. X-Man, Hugh Jackman is one of those. Here’s a workout program that would make the world’s sexiest man well prepared for athletic roles in blockbuster movies.

Out of nowhere came the X-Man, Hugh Jackman, pretty much a hybrid of all that is great about Australia. He’s tall, strong, athletic and a bit of a charmer and ladies man; the latter he most likely inherited from some Irish ancestry somewhere down the line, which is most likely why he was voted People Magazine’s World’s Sexiest Man 2008!

When Jackman approached to fitness, he was challenged by the quest for a better physique, or becoming a better athlete in general. Jackman however, uses his upcoming role as motivation for his training. The following workout made him stand in great physique for his movies.

Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6 reps

This does not include warm-up sets, and the progression is to increase weight with each and every set, maximizing force output each and every set.

Bench Press: 4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6 reps

This is the bread and butter of any bodybuilding routine; if you are not bench pressing, you might as well be pissing against the wind. As stated in an interview, Jackman was pushing 315 pounds; that’s three plates each side for all you math geniuses.

Cable Crossover: 4 sets x 15, 12, 10, 8 reps

This exercise should never be performed too heavy. The emphasis here is on stretching and squeezing the muscle. For Jackman’s movie roles as Wolverine or even Van Helsing, he needed to not only be super buff, but also have the elasticity in the muscle to perform the athletic movements required to be a credible superhero.

Making Your Own Comfortable Crossfit Workout

27 Feb

Tags: crossfit, daily workout, Energy Level, exercise, exercises, Free Fitness, High Impact, Jogging In Place, Jump Rope, Jumping Jacks, Leg Presses, Low Impact, Muscle Groups, Pound Weights, Punches, Push Ups, routine, Strength Training, Tendency, Upper Body Strength, Ups, Weightlifting, Workout Program
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Making Your Own Comfortable Crossfit Workout

Crossfit is a popular workout program that integrates cardio, strength training and flexibility through exercises such as sprinting, gymnastic, weightlifting, rowing and more. While it’s convenient to have all of the tools needed for a Crossfit workout right at your gym, you can design your own Crossfit workout if you want to save some money or you just prefer to work out at home.

Do your research. Crossfit includes a wide variety of exercises that work every part of the body. Choose the exercises that you like and that are appropriate for your fitness level. If you’re accustomed to high-impact exercises, you can include jumping jacks and jump rope in your cardio routine. If you’re just starting to work out, stick to low-impact cardio, such as throwing punches or jogging in place. Similarly, if you struggle with upper-body strength, start with 5-pound weights, rather than jumping right into pushups.

Vary your exercises. Don’t just vary the specific exercise you are doing, but vary the muscle groups that you are working. There is a tendency to want to do more of what you do well, because it makes you feel confident. Switch it up every other day, include stretching into your routine and work on the muscle groups that are weaker and, in turn, harder. If you do a lot of push-ups or rowing one day, focus on leg presses and lunges the next day. Varying the muscle groups also ensures that you build strength all over.

Track your routine. Not only will tracking your routine keep you accountable, but it helps you avoid repeating exercises too often. Tracking your routine also helps identify what is effective and what is not. Keep a journal or use a free fitness website like SparkPeople to write down what did during your workout and what you ate that day. Also note your energy level, how sore you are and how much weight or many inches you’ve lost.

Challenge yourself. When using 5-pound weights gets easy, increase the weight you’re lifting. When your lunges get easy, go deeper and when you don’t feel your stretches, stretch further. You will build strength as you continue to practice Crossfit workouts; to avoid plateaus; you have to continuously challenge yourself.

How to Tighten Your Stomach with Simple Home Workouts and Discipline

27 Feb

Tags: Abdominal Exercise, Abdominal Exercises, Accumulation, Cardiovascular Exercises, Cardiovascular Workout, crossfit, daily workout, Elbows, exercise, Guilt, Home Workouts, How To Tighten Your Stomach, Nibble, Nutritious Food, Pastry, Paunch, Pointers, routine, Rule Of Thumb, Stomach Crunches, Stomach Exercises, Target, Torso, Twang
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Diet and Food, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

How to Tighten Your Stomach with Simple Home Workouts and Discipline

While there are many exercises that target the stomach, unfortunately these don’t help unless they are combined with cardiovascular exercises. This is because while stomach exercises like abdominal crunches target the abs and reduces the fat, this reduction is only temporary.

Excess flesh still remains, which encourages the accumulation of fat in that area. If your paunch is very slight and barely noticeable when you have clothes on, you could get away with doing just abdominal exercises. But if you have a rather large stomach, you need to combine the following abdominal exercises with an aerobic or cardiovascular workout like jogging.

Diet

Just because you’ve exercised today, doesn’t mean you reach for that chocolate pastry without a twang of guilt. Remember, exercise should be combined with the right diet to achieve results. Don’t starve yourself, eat well, and eat healthy, nutritious food. Stay away from sweets. Of course, you can nibble on the occasional desert, but don’t make it a habit, even if you don’t have a tendency to gain weight. It’s just not good for you.

Breathing

It’s always confusing to remember when to inhale and when to exhale. The basic rule of thumb to follow is to INHALE when ‘opening up’ and EXHALE when curling up. This rule is applicable to around 90% of all exercises, and to all abdominal exercises, so by following it you can be sure that you’re exercising the right way.

Stomach crunches

Almost everyone knows this basic abdominal exercise: knees bent, hands behind head, feet and lower back flat on the floor, lift torso upwards slightly and come down. Here are some basic pointers to keep in mind when performing this exercise:

Don’t bring your elbows close together when you lift your torso off the floor.
Don’t try and touch your head to your knees. You don’t have to get up completely. Just lift yourself a few inches off the floor.
When you lift yourself, try and hold this position for a few seconds. Start with 2 seconds, and work up to 5 seconds. This is far more beneficial than doing numerous quick crunches.
Gradually increase the number to sets of 10-15 crunches. Do around 5 sets. If you manage to hold each lift for a few seconds, 5 sets should be more than sufficient. Once you’ve mastered this, you could gradually work up to 10 sets.

Reverse crunches

1. Keep your hands flat out on your sides.

2. Lift your feet off the floor, so your knees form a 90 degree angle with your torso.

3. Using your stomach muscles, EXHALE and bring your knees forward so they touch your chest. Hold.

4. Slowly, INHALE and push them backwards till they reach the 90 degree position once again. Do 5 sets of 10-15 reverse crunches.

5. Once you’ve mastered the basic reverse crunch, try this: instead of bringing your knees forward, straighten one leg at a time till your toe touches the floor.

6. Slowly, work up to straightening both legs together, and brining them up again. Remember, the key is to do this slowly. (Ouch!)

Warming up and stretching

Before beginning any form of a workout, whether it is cardiovascular or spot training, it is imperative that you first warm up. Warming up could include some spot jogging, or if you are out in the open, a brisk walk. Cool down after you complete your workout, and then stretch. Stretches should be performed at the fag end of your workout, when your muscles are already warm and flexible, to reduce chances of them tearing.

And finally, some good news: abdominal exercises need not be done more than three times a week. So do them regularly, and do them right. You’ll be thrilled with the results.

Domestic Workout: Top 6 Crossfit Workouts You Can Do Without Going to Fitness Gym

27 Feb

Tags: Aerobic Classes, Average Person, Commercial Breaks, Cordless Phone, crossfit, Cupboard, Daily Chores, daily workout, Empty Seat, exercise, Fact Women, Finger Joints, Fitness Gym, Fitness Workout, Glass Of Water, Gym Workouts, Hand Lotion, Iphone, Mild Soap, Person Burns, routine, Sedentary Job, Undergarments, Varicose Veins
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Domestic Workout: Top 6 Crossfit Workouts You Can Do Without Going to Fitness Gym

You don’t have to sweat it out in a gym in order to stay fit. Simple daily chores such as washing your undergarments yourself or dusting your shelves can do the trick. In fact, women who stay fit by working around the house not only lose as much weight as women in aerobic classes, but are also better able to keep the weight off for a longer period. All you need to do is try and accumulate at least 30 minutes of physical activity through the day. And it’s just as easy said as done!

1. Washing your undergarments yourself is excellent for finger joints. You can kiss arthritis in your finger joints goodbye. Make sure you use a mild soap though, and follow up by applying a hand lotion, to avoid drying your hands.

2. Invest in a cordless phone and walk around while chatting. Can you think of a more enjoyable way to burn calories?

3. Instead of asking the office peon to fetch you a glass of water, get up and get it yourself. Refill your glass of water every hour. This helps boost circulation, and will reduce the risk of you developing varicose veins.

4. Don’t just flick the channel during commercial breaks. Get up and do something: change the bedcover, tidy up your cupboard shelves or just walk around.

5. When you drive down somewhere, park your car in a far-off spot so you walk more to reach your destination.

6. Stand up while riding the train or bus, instead of sitting. An average person burns around 140 calories an hour while standing, as opposed to 100 calories an hour while sitting. That may not seem like a huge difference outright, but those additional calories add up to quite a bit, over a period of time. So the next time you are tempted to grab that empty seat in a bus or train, resist, especially if you are in a sedentary job, and have been seated all day anyway.

Get the best iphone app for fitness and app for working out at http://www.DragonTortise.com This fitness app explores functional fitness and training at its best. Get more fitness tips and workout ideas from http://www.DragonTortise.com/workouts/

Crossfit Jumping: Improving Your Vertical Jump Height and Strengthening Your Leg Muscles

27 Feb

Tags: Agility, Aim, Barbell, crossfit, daily workout, exercise, exercises, Glutes, Hip Abduction, Hips, Jump Height, Jump Jump, Jump Rope, Jump Ropes, Leg Muscles, Little Girls, Repetitions, routine, Shoulders, Squats, Vertical Jump, Weights, workout, workouts
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Crossfit Jumping: Improving Your Vertical Jump Height and Strengthening Your Leg Muscles

The main purpose of all of these exercises is to increase the height of your vertical jump. Jump workouts work so well because they strengthen the muscles needed to be able to jump higher. Some of these exercises require equipment, while others need nothing but your determination to succeed.

1) Squats – Squats require a barbell (just like you would use for benching) and weights to go on the barbell. It is one of many workouts to jump higher that can really improve your vertical.

To perform a squat, rest the barbell centered on your shoulders and squat down low. Then, slowly rise back up keeping the bar parallel to the ground. Remember to always keep your back straight and never to be hunched over.

When you first start squatting, go with a pretty light weight and just aim for repetitions. That way you can get the hang of the squatting motion before you start really lifting.

2) Standing Hip Abduction – A more moderate jumping workout that does not require weights is the Standing Hip Abduction. All you need to do is find a wall or something else you can lean against.

Lean your hand against the wall and raise your raise your opposite leg as high as possible. Try and hold this position for around 5 seconds. Then, slowly let your leg go back down and repeat. Now do the same with your other leg. You should feel tightening in your outer hips and glutes. If you do not, then try holding your leg up for even longer.

If you want to really push yourself then hold your leg up for as long as you can and time it. Try to do the exercise again and beat your first time without resting in between. If you push yourself, then you should be able to make it.

3) Jump Rope – Jump ropes are not just for little girls. They are a great way to build speed, agility, strength, or warm you up before a workout. Of all the vertical jump workouts, jumping rope may be the most surprising to people.

If you are jumping rope to warm up, then just jump slowly. Make sure you keep a rhythm and do not slam the ground when you land.

When jumping rope, you should not even be able to hear your feet touch the ground because you are just jumping lightly.

4) Sprints – Ah yes, the dreaded sprints. Sprints are an extremely great basketball workout because not only do they help build the leg muscles needed for a higher vertical, they also get you into great basketball shape.

Even though sprints may not be your favorite activity, it is important that you do them and push yourself to your limits. Jogging WILL NOT help you here; only sprint.

Find a flat surface that is 25 yards or longer. A basketball court is perfect. Sprint as hard as you can back and forth along the length of the court. Don’t stop until you absolutely have to. When you do stop, get a drink of water and start running again.

Artistic Workout: Dropping Pound by Capoeira Dancing

27 Feb

Tags: Abdomen, African Music, Africans, Art Form, Brute Force, Cardio Workout, Cartwheels, crossfit, Dance Sequences, dancing, exercise, Exercise Training, fitness, Fitness Strength, Groundwork, Group Exercise, Handstands, Head Butts, Music Is The Key, Prowess, Roda, Slaps, Sugar Plantations, Traditional Martial Art
Posted in Burn Fat, CrossFit, CrossFit for Women, Flexibility exercises, Home, Keep Fit, Workout Routines | No Comments »

Artistic Workout: Dropping Pound by Capoeira Dancing

The Origin

Instead of the boring routine of aerobics and callisthenics, try Capoeira as a form of exercise for a change. Capoeira is the Brazilian fighting dance whose origin can be traced back to the nineteenth century. It was invented by enslaved Africans who worked on Portuguese sugar plantations in Brazil.

The Difference

Capoeira is easily distinguishable from other martial arts, as it emphasises fluid acrobatic sweeps, kicks, and head butts, with a lot of groundwork such as upside-down kicks, handstands, cartwheels, and rolls. Elbow-strikes, slaps, punches, and body-throws are rarer in this sport. In fact, the entire martial art form is more like a dance than any other traditional martial art. This is possibly due to the fact that the slaves had to camouflage their martial arts prowess from their captors. Traditionally a circle, called a roda, was formed around which participants would sing or play musical instruments. At the centre of this circle, two participants would spar with each other.

Capoeira as Exercise

As a form of exercise, Capoeira is a group exercise that will maximize your ‘cardio’ workout. It is a form of exercise that stresses on balance, flexibility, and strength. In an average two-hour session, you will rarely be sitting immobile for long.

Capoeira does not involve brute force. Instead, it is more about being inventive with the flow. A Capoeira exercise training session starts with a warm-up routine to stretch your muscles. The exercise can start with repeated kicks and falls, which will help in developing your thighs and abdomen and building your general stamina. This exercise progresses into more intricate and difficult dance sequences. The energetic kicks, ducks, and twists that make up Capoeira help to increase your agility, flexibility, fitness, strength, speed, and co-ordination.

The Music

Music is the key to any Capoeira session. Usually African music is played in the background to give it the traditional feel and recreate the conditions in which Capoeira was originally performed. Common musical accompaniments used are the tambourines or drums. The most important musical instrument for Capoeira is the berimbau. Made from wood, wire, and gourd, this instrument controls the entire tempo of the session.

The Session

In a Capoeira session, when two opponents face off within the roda, there are no actual physical blows delivered. Hits are feigned or shown; none are actually carried through, so participants do not need to fear walking away with bruises after a session. Instead of actually trying to block attacks physically, opponents try to evade them. Capoeira is about creativity and spontaneity. Duellists try to be unpredictable as there are no set rules. Capoeira is more like a dance than a duel.

The Moves

The most basic stance in Capoeira is called ginga, which a person performs constantly in a triangular dance-like pattern. All the other steps of Capoeira build on from this basic step. Both feet are kept approximately a shoulder’s width apart. One foot is slid backwards and then brought back again to the base and the second foot then is slid backwards. This motion allows the ‘Capoeiristas’ to lunge, squat, and then lunge again, allowing them to move around the roda quickly. This movement helps to keep the game unpredictable.

When Capoeira is adopted as a form of exercise, the traditional moves are sometimes modified slightly. Complex acrobatic moves are replaced with moves that are found in ‘cardio’ exercises and aerobics. This form of Capoeira is simpler than the traditional form, and is finding its way into gyms around the world. Capoeira helps in not only building muscles but also toning the entire body evenly. It is an excellent form of exercise and also a great way to make new friends.

Archive for the ‘CrossFit’ Category

Rocky Workout: Sylvester Stallone’s Crossfit Routine

Crossfit Weightlifting: Improve your Muscles with Electrifying Hardcore Workout

Madonna: The Life of being a Crossfit-Loving Celebrity

Jessica Simpson’s Circuit Training and Crossfit Workout Activities

Celebrity Crossfit: Hugh Jackman’s Secrets for His Body Shape

Making Your Own Comfortable Crossfit Workout

How to Tighten Your Stomach with Simple Home Workouts and Discipline

Domestic Workout: Top 6 Crossfit Workouts You Can Do Without Going to Fitness Gym

Crossfit Jumping: Improving Your Vertical Jump Height and Strengthening Your Leg Muscles

fun workouts

fitness on the go!

Fitness

Blogroll

Gyms

Mobile Apps

CrossFit Trainings

Our Fitness Apps

Pages