Plyometrics

I recently told my father I would email him some of my workout routines that Marcus and I have put together. Marcus puts them together for his martial arts class or to help make my workouts more intense; I’ve put them together because I like variety, and because sometimes I obsess and search workouts on the internet.

So, instead of just emailing him, or rather, emailing my Mother so she can print for him (see the blog Hello? The power of CONNECTING and how technology has changed things for reference on my Father’s computer skills), I decided to write a blog about it...for my Mother to print for him.

This is almost ironic because my early education in fitness was primarily from my Father. He taught me how to ride a bike and lift weights properly. One of his oldest friends had me leading aerobics in gym class at age 12. I swear my Father knew all of the phy-ed (physical education) teachers in the whole city where I grew up. My father’s influence was omnipresent, at least in my formative years around workouts and fitness.

So it’s an interesting flip of roles that I’m now checking in with him on his workouts. That I’m now talking to him about his diet, workout routine and overall health. And of course, it’s no coincidence that the man I’ll likely marry (Marcus) is a serious fitness junkie - though he’s mellowed on his own workout routine in the last few years because his kidneys are napping. In the past, Marcus would train in Jeet Kune Do 2-4 hours a day after an 80-mile bike ride. On the days he didn’t bike, he’d cross train by doing what he called The Bruce Lee workout, which consisted of thousands of kicks, punches, or slips. According to Marcus, Bruce Lee’s notes illustrated Bruce taking a move, like a round-kick for example, and repeating the movement 5000 times. Marcus was a little less ambitious – he only repeated the kicks 1000 times. It’s probably good that Marcus has mellowed.

The truth is, it’s not that my Father doesn’t know what to do, it’s just that...well maybe he doesn’t know what to do about his eating, because since retirement he’s slowly gained weight. But I think he had a routine while teaching, and since he was a fitness teacher (high school, mostly), he was working out throughout the day. As a retiree, his routine is a little more sedentary, to make a gross understatement. He’s still strong as an ox, in fact he lifted 250 lbs on his 70^th birthday, but he carries extra weight, and his blood sugar, as well as his pant-waist size, reflects his more retired lifestyle.

So...I told him he should be getting more out of his workouts and that it’s probable he’s become a bit complacent in his workouts. He replied, true to form and sarcastic, “a little?” Yes, Dad, a little is your influence creeping into my language. (My Father has always had a great sense of humor, annoyingly great at times when he was pointing out his children’s idiosyncrasies.)

So after all of that, here’s a few exercise routines for my Dad or anyone else out there.

Very important FORM note for all exercises:

Feet should be pointed STRAIGHT, stance should be between hip and shoulder WIDTH. We’ll call this balanced stance. (The exception on this is The Crab.) Patella (point just below knee cap), must be over 2^nd toe. KNEES should not pass beyond your TOES. (Your butt has to move backward & torso down to thighs to maintain this proper form. Use a mirror to ensure your knees don’t wobble as you go down. If they do, SLOW DOWN and correct your form. Go SLOW DOWN, and quick UP, if you can. If this still creates a wobble, go SLOW the whole time until you build up strength. This will strengthen your knees & help prevent knee injury. Also, get barefoot-style shoes for your workouts. (I like vibram fivefingers.) This will strengthen your feet, legs and all the very important stabilizer muscles. For squats, imagine a ski jumper or as Marcus likes to say, “knees to boobs.”

For this blog, I’ll share the plyometrics Marcus does before class and recommends for clients. (I do these 3-4 times per week.) For tomorrow’s workout blog, I’ll share my variation on the 300 workout. (The movie 300.)

Sifu’s Plyometrics:

Do each exercise for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Marcus calls it 30-30s. Repeat the whole set 2-4 times per workout. You may get sore so the first time you may want to only do 2 sets.

Kick & Twist

Kick with right leg, twist torso toward right leg with left arm swinging forward.

30 seconds for each leg.

Dynamic Lunges

Stand hip-width apart. Step forward into a lunge, be sure your knees bend to 90° angles and not beyond. After lunge push yourself up back to starting position. Switch right and left every other lunge forward.

Switch-step Jump Squat

Start in balanced stance. Step forward 1-foot with the right leg, step backward 1-foot with the left leg, squat down. Jump up, switch your foot position, repeat.

The Heisman

Looks very similar to The Heisman trophy. Side-step dynamically, lifting inside knee to elbow. Keep pelvis tucked and back straight.

The Superman

Start in balanced stance. Squat down, jump up with arms extended toward the sky. Pretend you’re trying to take off like Superman.

The Crab

Wide stance, feet/knees turned out, thighs parallel to the ground. Shuffle to the right starting the shuffle with the left leg, land in the original wide stance. Back straight; hands in prayer pose in front of your chest.

I realize words alone don’t describe this as well as pictures, but we will have pictures, diagrams and video sometime in the near future. Leave a comment if you have questions. These exercises are great because they work on cardiovascular but are also strength-building.

Dad, let me know if you have questions, though I suspect this will be like riding a bike.

Oprah!

It was fun the first time...

You still have time to VOTE! Plus, voting is unlimited, so you can vote many, many times! Also, share on facebook, twitter or just forward an email to your friends. Voting closes July 3rd.

Go to Oprah's website by CLICKING HERE

Share this with everyone you know & vote many, many times! direct URL: http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=video_details&response_id=19017&promo_id=1

Bravo, Stephen Colbert & Co! and your Olympic Vancouverage

If you missed this week of The Colbert Report, you can watch episodes either on Comedy Central's website for The Colbert Report, Colbert Nation, or on Hulu (where you'll suffer only 2-3 commercials per episode. (No, I'm not sponsored by either one of these organizations, I just like to make things easy for my readers.)

Stephen Colbert and Co. (Co being his writers and staff) did a fantastic job this week not covering the Olympic games. They Vancouveraged them. But right here I'd like to just point out the absurdity of copyright law. Apparently, NBC paid $820 million for exclusive rights to use the "O" word. (No, not orgasms. Please see previous blogs for those kinds of topics, people! This is serious, olympic, athletic business here on this blog!) What this means, as far as this very un-legal gal understands, is that no other broadcast station can proclaim on-air that they're covering the Olympic games of 2010. Only NBC-owned-or-affiliated stations can say that. Also, no other non-NBC-owned-or-affiliated stations can even show the Olympic rings without risking being sued. Sillyness, huh? That's copyright for you. I wonder how that applies to print. I suspect it doesn't since newspapers seem to be freely reporting on the winter Olympics, but who reads a newspaper (besides online) nowadays anyways? Besides, of course, my parents... and anyone retired and over age 60. Don't get me wrong, I actually love newspapers. There's a fantastic visceral experience that comes with reading an actual newspaper (as opposed to reading news on the computer or watching news on television). I just love trees more than that visceral experience. Especially considering I would sometimes miss reading the paper on certain days and would subsequently feel a bit wasteful. If they printed newspapers on hemp, a crop that grows, aptly, like a weed, and actually replenishes the soil (unlike corn that reaps & drys out soil - please see the movies Food, Inc. & The Union for more) I might be more inclined to subscribe to a newspaper...but I digress.

Back on topic, here's how Colbert got around that little legality and are avoiding being sued.

Exclusive Vancouverage of the 2010
Quadrennial Cold Weather Athletic Competition...
Defeat The World!

Colbert's brother, who is a copyright attorney and recent guest on the show to advise little bro Stephen on said laws, said if he were the Olympic attorney he'd still sue for the aforementioned Exclusive Vancouverage of the 2010 Quadrennail Cold Weather Athletic Competition... but that Colbert would likely win.

Bravo, Colbert & Co! Not just for comedy or creativity, though you deserve high marks for that. But I celebrate you because you skirt (or luge around the fastest corner) the line of copyright legality (truly one of the most boring of all legalities - which really is saying something) in the name of humor, entertainment, and most importantly, supporting world competition and athleticism. Could we just do this whole athletic competition thing instead of war? We'd still get our aggressions out. Oh, wait. It's not as profitable. NBC's set to loose money on this one, and Halliburton simply would not tolerate that. War's more profitable than the Olympics. Chew on that next time you decide to exercise...Oh wait, chew on that next time you watch TV. Since if you're an average American, you're likely to spend more time watching television than exercising.

Muscle SURPRISE! The key to physical, mental & emotional fitness.

My friend Camilla and I are riding in her car after a very intense, strength-building workout at Monkey Bar Gym (a gym that is very much like it sounds... do monkey-like exercises based primarily on body-weight and you'll get very fit and strong). Anyway, we're in the car and Camilla, who exercises mostly by jogging a couple of miles a few times a week, says to me, "I should do more of those kinds of exercises. They'll help me get stronger."

I reply, firmly seated on my high-horse, "Yeah, good idea. Actually, it's a training technique, I think it's called... muscle surprise." She starts giggling and I do too...because she knows it's not right, and as soon as it leaves my lips, I know too. Between giggles and gasping for air, she comes back with... "I think it's called muscle confusion."

Oh, right.

Now just between you and me, I love it when I make these kinds of mistakes. Somewhere in my brain I replaced the word surprise with confusion. Oh wait, reverse that. Anyway, it helps me not take myself so seriously. And leads to lots of laughing at myself with anyone near and odd enough to get it.

So back to muscle surprise. Camilla's driving, though I'm not sure how because at this point I'm laughing so hard my eyes will not stay open. We've started saying, "Muscle... SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!" while making noise-maker sounds, pretending that we're throwing a surprise party for someone named Muscle. I also say something about how it's a surprise for your muscles, like in one of those cakes you eat with a coin or tiny plastic baby Jesus and you get good luck for a year or whatever. (Is it a baby Jesus or am I making that up? And what tradition is this from anyway?)

Geesh. It doesn't take much to amuse us.

But as I reflect on this now, I think we might've actually been onto something. Muscle surprise can translate to many aspects of our lives. Biologically we're drawn to familiar experiences, so anything you do over and over again, your body adapts so that it's as easy as possible. Same is true for mental and emotional experiences, and this is counter-productive for any kind of change we may want to enact. Basically, if you want to get stronger, whether it's physically, mentally or emotionally, you have to SURPRISE! your system. New exercises, i.e. new experiences, will help us grow.

Just remember to strap yourself in or use a net for your first time out there on your surprise adventures.... Oh, and bring a friend who gets your sense of humor.

More Interesting Katie Strand World Posts

• I had to learn SIGN LANGUAGE when I moved to Los Angeles
• Guys can make a game out of anything
• Hello? The power of CONNECTING and how technology has changed
• Popping the question is better than porn!
• Bravo, Stephen Colbert & Co! and your Olympic Vancouverage
• Songwriting is like SEX
• Born To Run by Christopher McDougall - Inspiring a inspiring all of us to be more in the FLOW
• A moment of silence for all the plastic surgery ca...
• Ricky Gervais should be the new Simon on American Idol
• Muscle SURPRISE! The key to physical, mental & emotional fitness
• I think my boyfriend's a snake...
• Release... Sweat & Power
• MY FAVORITE THINGS! - Vibram's Five Fingers
• Dick Morris... How do you sleep at night?
• Rusty DePass, Gorillas, and Obama, oh my!
• Michael Jackson - Troubled Genius

More Amazing Music and Posts at Katie Strand Music

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MY FAVORITE THINGS! - Vibram's Five Fingers

Vibram's Five Fingers.

Barefoot enthusiasts, rejoice!

I first saw Vibram's Five Fingers (VFF) on a woman who was exercising at the Manhattan Beach Sand Dunes (Which have been closed since August 2009 for neighborhood noise/traffic reasons or some such thing. I'll do a FT post on the Sand Dunes sometime soon - maybe when they reopen). I went right out and bought a pair. I highly recommend trying them on at the store for size because they are footwear unlike any other. Though my size was true to what I wear in dress-shoes.

Anyway, the shoes make you feel like you're barefoot. For those who dislike being barefoot, think about it like this, your feet, legs and entire body is brilliantly designed to be barefoot. We've been wearing shoes only a fraction of the time of human existence, and until the last 30 or so years, our shoes have been mostly for protection, not to modify our movement or gate. (Reference: Born To Run by Christopher McDougall - more on the book in a future blog.) With these shoes, we develop muscles in our feet and legs that have been under-used and under-developed because of traditional shoes.

Case and point. This fall I was traveling in the north and went hiking near waterfalls. Down stream the water level was very low so crossing the river over rocks was possible. I observed other people crossing in traditional shoes and they seemed off-balance and slow as they walked over oddly shaped rocks to get to the other side. A few times I thought these people would fall into the cool water. They might have if they didn't have a friend nearby to stabilize on. Now I'm relatively fit, but I know that feeling of walking on rocks and feeling unstable. This was my first time traversing across river-rocks in my VFF. The experience was entirely different. I could feel the rocks and grip them with my feet! I felt like a gazelle elegantly prancing through the field my balance and agility were so keen with these shoes on. It was fantastic.

Now, you may need to get used to them before you run marathons in them. They do take getting used to. Also, the way you step when you walk and run should change. The human foot wasn't meant to walk or run heel to toe, that is symptomatic of ultra-padded running shoes. Check online videos of Tarahumara runners or barefoot running or Kenyan runners. They tend to have more organic and gentle running styles. Wear them for just an hour at a time as your feet and legs build up your natural stabilizer muscles and shock absorbers that have been under-used ever since your parents made you put shoes on to play outside. Do any kids actually like wearing shoes to play? None that I know of.

My only criticisms are the following: I often practice martial arts outside in these shoes, and sometimes the soles of my feet get warm and worn from the friction or rotating on the ground. Also, sometimes my feet get cold. (It's an odd sensation when your feet are generally cold, but the bottoms are hot from friction.) Both things could possibly be cured by wearing thin toe socks. I'll test it out and report back. (Leave a comment if you're impatient to learn how my test goes.) Being barefoot in these shoes is great though. I can really feel all of my movements without compromising a certain level of protection the soles give me (I rarely go barefoot outside these days except on the beach.) All in all, I think a thicker or cold-weather (but breathable) version would be fantastic.

Other than those two relatively minor things, I LOVE these shoes. Well-done Vibram.

If nothing else, check with your local sports store, try on a pair for size and walk around the store a little. It's a unique experience. (You may be able to find better prices online once you know your size.) You're more likely to find them at specialty sports stores that cater to more extreme and serious athletes, hikers, rock climbers and campers. In other words, I don't think Sports Authority carries them, but Adventure 16 might.

Let me know what you think!



(Katie Strand is not sponsored or paid to endorse these shoes. Strand is merely stating an opinion about a public product. No legal copyright or publicity infringement intended.)