Of course you want to say, “YES! Let’s do it! I’ll put in a ton of time and effort and sacrifice so I can have the body I want RIGHT FLIPPIN’ NOW!” However, I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re just like me. You’re probably not a bodybuilder or a fitness model. You’re a regular guy or gal, and you’re in a world full or regular guys and gals who want to get in a decent shape to look good, and live a happy, full, life. So, what are regular guys and gals truly thinking about this time of year?

“Wait! It’s fall and now I have to take care of the leaves in the yard, and make sure the kids are doing good in school, and Halloween’s coming up and I got to get candy and costumes, and after that is Thanksgiving with all the food I have to prepare, and then gorge myself with, and then we have the holiday season so I have to fight to get the gifts I want for my family, only leading up to New Years where they’re parties and drinks and…” we can go on and on, can’t we?

Now, I’m not saying DON’T do those activities. My point is that we all have things in our lives that will get in the way. All the things I mentioned are only things that I can predict happen to many American families. What if you’re a step beyond the norm? What if you’re an executive of a company, or a mother of 10 kids, or have a crazy hobby? Add THOSE things to the run-on paragraph of what’s to come and it can be overwhelming!

Just think about it for a second? Have you ever been so gung-ho about reaching a goal, any goal, only to find yourself derailed by “life”? Next thing you know, it’s been months since you thought about your set goal, and you look back disappointed that you lost all that time. The easiest example of this is the New Year’s Resolution. You have a goal that you start January 1^st, only to get derailed by everything that can happen over the course of 12 months!

So what can we do to prevent the same jinx year in and year out? Simply give yourself time to regroup.

Regrouping in life is incredibly powerful. It works just like a military or combat regroup. Imagine you’re a military general. Troops are scattered, everyone’s confused and things around you are too chaotic. Keep up this pattern and the enemy overwhelms you. So you, as the general, you order your troops to pull back and regroup, so you can better prepare yourself for the next battle. You’re stronger, more fortified, more organized, and can battle much more efficiently.

Back to real life, it works exactly the same way. You take some time out of your busy schedule, maybe an hour every month, and take a look at where you are with your fitness goals, and what the situation is around you. You make a plan that integrates into your life, and you take action. The important step here is taking a good look at what’s going on in your life right now, and what can you predict will happen in the next 3 months. That way, you can adapt to life, make key decisions, prepare for what’s to come, and maximize your time and efforts.

So, as an example, you have ‘ABC’ fitness goal, and you can look ahead in your calendar, and see that your next regroup is the middle of October. What’s going on right now? Well I have such and such project I’m doing at school or work. I have commitments here and there I have to adhere to. With those in mind, what can I do with the time that I have? Knowing how much time is available towards your fitness goals is essential, that way you can plan your workouts and eating habits accordingly (I’ll have more about goal setting and fitness planning in future blogs, so stay tuned). You may be asking yourself, “what if something unexpected comes around?” Well, because you better prepared for what you EXPECTED to come and have already adapted to those situations, the unexpected situations won’t have the power to throw off all your progress. They will be little bumps in the road you can get around. Next thing you know, you’re back on track.

That’s all there is to it. Commit to yourself one hour each month to see where you’re at, see where you want to be, and see what’s coming. Then make a plan, and take action. You can live your life one of two ways. You can either live in a ‘reactive’ mode, where you have to constantly be on the defensive and react to everything that comes your way, or you can live in a ‘proactive’ mode, where you can accept that life will happen, plan for it, and find a way to still succeed.

Can you beat 50 push ups in a row? If you think you have what it takes then please upload a video to youtube.com and post the link in our comments section below any of the current challenges. If you break the record, we will post your video. Bring it!

Eight ways to avoid headaches:

1. Say hydrated.

2. Limit caffeine.

3. (Especially for exertional headaches) Warm up thoroughly before working out. This will help your body get use to the shift in bloodflow.

4. Limit alcohol.

5. Eat a healthy and balanced diet.

6. Take multivitamins.

7. Limit sodium.

8. Sleep!

3 rounds for time of
500m row
12 body weight dead lifts
21 box jumps

the box is 20 inches high

total time 8:22

Try to beat that…

Workout:
Duration: All day

Wake up:
-Bicep Curr: Hawaii 5-0: 50 reps curls, 50 shoulder presses, 50 squats, (weight varies depending how many palm fronds you use.), 50 synclined pushups, 50 dips

-Bicycurr: Ride bicycle to beach (Alternative is to drive: if you choose this, put yo seat back and do situps to techno music the whole way. People may think you’re having a seizure in your truck, but they’ll be mighty impressed when they see your abs.)

-Then comes Facing yo Furr:
Burn yo Furr: Walk as slowly as you can across the smolderingly hot sand to the ocean, before your feet burn off. Pain.
Swim real furr: Swim as hard as you can until you can’t. (This is actually a lot more difficult in Maui since the water is so warm and your muscles dont seize up as fast, thus making your workout longer.) Pain and Fear.
Flip off Thurr: Do flip variations until chicks either come up and talk to you, or start cheering you on. Then you go talk to them. Fear.

-Gain Melonurr: This is an all day activity. Sunburns may be the leading cause of skin cancer (who knows) but boy do they ever lead to a sweet ass tan. Even if you wear sunscreen, spend all day outside gaining melonin and getting black (did I really say that?).

-Play Volleyburr: This next part is simple: Drink beer, then burn off those calories you just gained by playing beach volleyball as hard as you can until 9 pm (There should be lights at the court). Don’t forget to take at least one moment to appriciate the beauty of the place you’re at! Hunger, Pain, & Fear of drunk guy taking you out from under the net.

-Mack Some Guurl: The bars are right across the street from the beach! If you “Played Volleyburr right, you shouldn’t even have to buy drinks from the place, as they’ll be costing you an arm and a leg.

-Don’t Die!: Riding your bike home at 1:30 am in Hawai’i is some dangerous s***. Tourists drive like maniacs, and locals can harass you. If you have friends, or know some girls at a resort nearby, this may be a better bet for you if your house isnt exactly on the beach.

Well, I hope this (very brief) guide will give you some insight as to how one may better themselves Island Style. See you at Kamaol’e Beach!
-Tap

***You should be bare footed and wearing only shorts… but if you want to, you can wear more.

 Prep:

Load up a bar with 85 pounds.

Have a pull up bar about 200 meters away and on top of a steep hill.

20 Minutes of Doom:

As fast as you can without injuring yourself: 

Clean and press the bar, then lower it onto your shoulders.

Do ten full back squats.

Back press the bar.

Drop it in front of you.

Sprint up the hill to the pull up bar.

Do ten full Pull Ups.

Sprint back down the hill to the wieghts.

 Repeat for 20 minutes.

Goal:

Try to get as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes.

Dynamic Stretching- This type of stretching uses sport specific movements to prepare the body. Dynamic stretching uses speed of movement, momentum and active muscular effort to stretch. This type of stretching consists of controlled, rhythmic exercises that slowly stretch through the limits of your range of motion. Examples of dynamic stretches are walking lunges or arm circles.

Ballistic Stretching- This is the stretching that is the least encouraged. Ballistic Stretching is not the same as dynamic. Ballistic involves bouncing and bobbing movements. It increases muscle tension creating difficulty in stretching connective tissues. It also fails to provide adequate time for the tissues to adapt to the stretch and it increases muscle tension, making it hard to stretch connective tissues. Although there are ways to gradually work up to safe ballistic stretch, generally it is not a good idea.

Static Stretching- This is the most well known type of stretching. Static stretching consists of stretching a specific muscles or group of muscles, reaching their furthest point and holding that point for a period of time.

PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) Stretching- This is a type of stretching that is similar to static stretching. PNF stretching is usually done with a partner and the technique is that a muscle group is passively (without motion) stretched, then contracts isometrically against resistance (the person stretching you) while maintaining the same stretching position. Then the same muscle group again is passively stretched through the resulting increased range of motion. When I say isometrically I’m talking about muscle fibers. When you stretch, not all you fibers are stretching, some are at rest. Same thing when your muscles are contracting. When you are stretching and then you contract while still holding the stretch, some of those resting fibers contract and some stretch. Many of those fibers already stretching will be prevented from contracting and would stretch even more. When the isometric contraction is done, the contracting fibers will return to their normal rested length but the stretched fibers that were prevented from contracting will retain their stretched length for a period of time and be able to then elongate past their previous limit. This then increases flexibility.

My Theory

There is a lot of controversy over Static vs. dynamic stretching and the truth is that one is not better than the other, but better than the other in certain situations. Dynamic stretching has proven to be most effective before a workout or a sport event. The reason is this type of stretching mimics the speed and movement patterns of an athletic skill. It increases muscle extensibility and temperature. In other words, it warms the body up so there is less of a chance for injury. Also this type of stretching emphasizes balance, which will warm up the neurological system which is very important to warm up as well. Dynamic stretching is the better choice right before a event to warm and stretch your body.

Static stretching, on the other hand doesn’t warm up your body like dynamic stretching does. That is why it is not the preferred type of stretch before working out. But, if you want to become more flexible (which will help your performance in the future) and want to stretch a tight muscle, this where you would choose static over dynamic. PNF stretching is absolutely great, but is harder to do because you pretty much need a personal trainer or somebody to stretch you. Static stretching is vital to a athlete because it improves flexibility and this eventually leads to greater strength and less injuries.

In conclusion, you should stretch before working out or an athletic event, but this type of stretch should be dynamic. If you do have a tight muscle before the event, it is okay to stretch in statically, but do this before you warm up and do your dynamic stretching. After the event, static stretching is most appropriate. This stretching will increase your flexibility and help your muscles recover faster from the use you just put them through. Hope this all makes sense and may you get more flexible and never have another injury again!

Beachfit ’08
Date: Jan 14th, 2008
Time: Noonish
Place: South Manresa

See you at the beach!
-Yappa

Meet Xander and Mike at the beach tomorrow if you want to get real manly. We are planning on rain, wind, cold, and hopefully some hail and lightning if Odin shines upon us.

Call our cell phones for exact details.

Face your fear! Work out in the middle of Winter!