Hotel Room Workout and Interval Research

I’m spending the weekend away from home in a guest suite at a friend’s condo, and I’m sure they will have a Hotel-style gym in the building…now I often get questions on hotel workouts, and I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels (probably 20 per year), and rarely is the gym so bad that it doesn’t have dumbbells.

That’s all you really need…but if you don’t have that, I have a hotel room workout for you today.

Click here to listen to the call…

Let’s get started with…

Monday – April 4th…

Transformation Tip of the Week – “You are exactly what you believe and think about all day long. Constantly monitor your thoughts.” – Kekich Credo

#95….Believe in yourself. Get rid of the negative. Stay focused on your vision.

Our 10th TT Transformatin contest is just ending and contest #11 will start in May.

Training Tips – Now for our hotel room workout…

What you’ll do is alternate between lower body and upper body exercises in a circuit, with some total body ab exercises thrown in. Of course, you can’t train your upper back in a hotel room without equipment (unless you have resistance bands), so make sure you get to a gym once per week to do some dumbbell rows or seated rows. Almost every hotel has those in their gym.

Circuit:

– Do only half the reps in the first round.
– Do not rest between exercises.
– Rest 1 minute at the end of the circuit before repeating as many times as possible in 20-30 minutes.

  1. Prisoner Squat – 20 reps
  2. Pushup – Do as many as possible, stopping 2 reps short of failure
  3. Reverse Lunge – 15 per side
  4. Plank – 60 seconds
  5. Split Squat – 12 reps per side
  6. Close-Grip Pushup – Up to 25 reps
  7. Side Plank – 30 seconds per side
  8. Jumping Jacks – 1 minute (optional)

Tuesday – Get 30 minutes of fun activity – now grab a Green Tea and do this week’s research review.

Reference:
European Journal of Applied Physiology. Volume 111, Number 4, 669-678. Performance and physiological responses to repeated-sprint exercise: a novel multiple-set approach.

Responses to multiple sets of repeated-sprint exercise (RSE), focusing on changes in acceleration, intermittent running capacity and physiological responses.

Ten healthy young adults (7 males, 3 females) performed an incremental test, a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level1 (Yo-Yo IR1), and one session of RSE.

RSE comprised three sets of 5 × 4-s maximal sprints on a non-motorised treadmill, with 20 s of passive recovery between repetitions and 4.5 min of passive recovery between sets.

COUPLE OF WEEKS? After ten repeated-sprint training sessions, participants repeated all tests.

Training induced a significant increase (p < 0.05) in all indices of performance, particularly acceleration (21.9, 14.7 and 15.2% during sets 1, 2 and 3, respectively).

Training significantly increased Yo-Yo IR1 performance by 8% and decreased Δ[Lac−]/work ratio (−15.2, −15.5, −9.4% during sets 1, 2 and 3, respectively) and recovery HR during RSE.

There were strong correlations between Yo-Yo IR1 performance and indices of RSE performance, especially acceleration post-training (r = 0.88, p = 0.004).

Repeated-sprint training, comprising only 10 min of exercise overall, effectively improved performance during multiple-set RSE.

This exercise model better reflects team-sport activities than single-set RSE.

The rapid training-induced improvement in acceleration, quantified here for the first time, has wide applications for professional and recreational sport activities.

Wednesday Workout Tip – Training SWITCH…

Do your exercises in the correct order => Most difficult/intense first. Saw this training mistake in the gym today: Guy did hanging leg raises (gripping bar) BEFORE chin-ups, and could barely do any chinups due to grip fatigue. Switch that up. My workout: Bench Press, DB Chest Supported Row, Lockouts, Underhand Seated Row, Triceps, Rear Delts, Standing Lat Pulldown.

“Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.” – Alan Lakein

Trainer Thursday –  Do 30 minutes of fun activity…

Back in 2009 I worked with Chris Lopez on the original Turbulence Training Cerfication, and in fact, Chris was the first trainer I ever certified.  Here’s what Chris, a busy father of 5 (I know, how can a guy who looks so young have FIVE kids?), had to say about his experiences with the TT Certification:

=> http://www.turbulencetrainingcertification.com/firstcertifiedtrainer

It’s impressive how, like you, Chris simply wanted to re-design his life so he could work with more clients but at the same time have more time for his kids. And with the TT Certification and client attraction tools, he was able to do that.

Facebook Friday – I’m doing a lot of QnA sessions over on Facebook at www.TurbulenceTrainingFanpage.com

Question: Hi Craig, quick question, is it still effective to mix and match workouts? I am just asking because its hard at my gym to gather all the equipment and space I need to go from a weight exercise to say ball work on the floor. Thanks!

Answer: It really depends on what you are mixing and matching…and what you consider “effective”. Sorry for the ambiguous answer, but it’s a complex question. It’s much better to take a look at a list of exercise substitutions and find something you can replace an exercise with…rather than trying to mix programs.

Great question…please ask yours at: www.TurbulenceTrainingFanpage.com

Social Support Saturday –  30 minutes of fun activity…

If you’re just getting started on some big changes, realize that it’s fine to start slow…after all, even the smallest steps in the right direction are still better than the “nothing” you’ve been doing. It’s better to start slow, have some success, and build on that success, than it is to start too fast and feel like you are failing, great article on confidence => http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_confidence_switch

Sunday – Plan, Shop & Prepare –  30 minutes activity and plan, shop, & prepare…

Almonds vs. Carbs – First, starchy carbs are just plant stores of carbohydrates…ie) potatoes, yams, vegetables, etc. Obviously, potatoes are more calorie dense than broccoli, so if you want to lose fat, it is better to fill up on the leafy greens than the mashed potatoes. I’ve found that with myself and with clients, that when we eliminate bread, pasta, and rice, and limit carbohydrate intake to vegetables, fruits, and nuts, that we lose belly fat faster.

It’s that simple. In fact, science even backs me up.

In a study published in 2003, researchers found that subjects lost more weight when consuming almonds compared to complex carbohydrates.

Reference: Wien MA, Sabaté JM, Iklé DN, Cole SE, Kandeel FR. Almonds vs complex carbohydrates in a weight reduction program. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Nov;27(11):1365-72

Since then, I’ve been recommending raw almonds to all of my clients and millions of people that read my articles on the Internet and in Men’s Health magazine. But some folks still have a hard time eating almonds. Too boring, they say.

So here are 4 ways to add extra enjoyment to your almonds. Of course, make sure your almond intake fits into your daily calorie needs.

Snack on dry roasted, unsalted almonds. Roasted are always tastier, but be careful and only use the dry-roasted variety, not almonds roasted in oil. You can even roast your own at home, by simply putting almonds on a baking sheet in your oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.  (By the way, there are 22 almonds in a one ounce serving.)

– Add raw cocoa nibs. There’s nothing like the combination of chocolate and nuts. Now, I’ll admit, this combo doesn’t beat a peanut butter cup, but it’s still a great way to get more antioxidants (from the cocoa) and adds an interesting taste to your almonds.

– Add Goji berries. This is an acquired taste, but these dried berries from Asia are full of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. A tasty zing to add to your almonds.

– Mix blueberries with your almonds. Perfect for this time of year.

Next week!
•    Training Tips – My New Favorite Strength Training Program
•    Research Review – Empty Stomach Cardio + Ipod & Hearing Research
•    Nutrition – Caffeine and Exercise