Stadium Stairs

Are you looking to shake up your boring treadmill or cardio routine?  Sick and tired of training indoors with crowded & sweaty classes?  Looking to move your training to the sunny outdoors? Absorbing some Vitamin D while training now that spring is here?  If you enjoy a challenge and you are ready to build some serious lower body strength then this is the workout for you! 

Running Stairs has been used by athletes for decades and is guaranteed to build your cardiovascular threshold and build some serious lower body power and strength.  This workout is guaranteed to define your thighs and calves.

There are so many ways to use this workout.  You can start by jogging for 20 minutes to warm-up, and instead of walking down the stairs you can jog down (depending on your current fitness level).  You can also add hand weights or a weighted vest to increase your intensity.

If you are looking to build lower body strength while shaping and defining your lower body and abs, you will love this workout.  I use the Rye Stadium stairs and track for my Stadium Stairs workout.

Your Stadium Stairs Workout

 You can customize this workout for your fitness level.

First up, you’ll need to find a flight of approximately 30 stairs - perhaps there is a track with stadium seating nearby or even an apartment block or car park with a series of flights of stairs. Improvise and find something that you think could work.

1.) Once you have found your set of stairs or steps you need to begin your warm up. Walk up the stairs all the way to the top and back down again - continue this for 3-5 minutes or until you feel hot and are puffing slightly.

2.) As you finish your warm up return to the bottom of the stairs and then sprint up them with 100% effort.

3.) Once you reach the top, walk down to the bottom - this is the recovery phase.

4.) After reaching the bottom of the stairs, turn around and sprint up them again.

5.) Keep repeating this sequence. Depending on your fitness level you could complete anywhere between 3 and 15 sets - work until you feel like your have worked enough - your legs should feel rubbery and you should be breathing heavily.

*Results of Stair Climbing*

Easily Reduce Body Fat

Achieve and Maintain your Ideal Bodyweight

Eliminate or Reduce Joint Pain.

Build Legs that look Amazing

Build Buns of Steel

Build strong and sleek Abdominals

Build a strong and sleek Upper Body

Increase your Strength

Increase your Power

Improve your Flexibility

Improve your Balance & Coordination

You can also check out Stair Climbing / Stair Exercises for more workouts.

10 Foods That Detox The Body

When it comes to detoxing your body, there are many techniques you can follow and supplements you can take. But, the best way, is to eat lots of foods that detox the body. Below is a list of detox foods that I thought would be an great addition to everybody’s diet.

1. Fruits

Fruits are extremely high in liquid-content, helping the body wash out toxins. They are also very easy to digest and are high in antioxidants, nutrients, fiber and many important vitamins like vitamin C.

2. Green Foods

When you are ready to detox your body, fill your refrigerator with blue green algae, barley, wheatgrass, kale, spinach, spirulina, alfalfa, chard, arugula or other organic leafy greens. These plants will help give a chlorophyll-boost to your digestive tract.

Chlorophyll rids the body of harmful environmental toxins from smog, heavy metals, herbicides, cleaning products and pesticides. They also aid the liver in detoxification.

3. Lemons, Oranges & Limes

These citrus-wonders aid the body in flushing out toxins, as well as jump-start the digestive tract with enzymatic processes. They also aid the liver in its cleansing processes. To increase detoxification, start each morning with a warm glass of lemon water.

Remember, vitamin C is one of the best detox vitamins around, as it transforms toxins into digestible material.

4. Garlic

This pungent bulb stimulates the liver in producing detoxification enzymes that help filter out toxic residues in the digestive system. Adding sliced or cooked garlic to any dish, will help aid any detox diet.

5. Broccoli Sprouts

Extremely high in antioxidants, broccoli sprouts can help stimulate the detoxification enzymes in the digestive tract like none-other. The sprouts are actually more effective than the fully-grown vegetable, despite the picture on the right.

6. Green Tea

Packed full of antioxidants,green tea not only washes toxins out of the system through its liquid content, but also contains a special type of antioxidant called catechins, known to increase liver function.

7. Mung Beans

The mighty mung bean has been used by Ayurvedic doctors for thousands of years. It is incredibly easy to digest, and absorbs toxic residue on the sides of the intestinal walls.

8. Raw Vegetables

Best for juicing detox regimens or eaten raw: Onions, carrots, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, garlic, beet, turmeric, and oregano. The combination of these foods will help your liver purge toxins during the cleansing process. These are high in naturally occurring sulphur and glutathione. Sulphur helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals.

9. Seeds & Nuts

Incorporate more of the easily digestible seeds and nuts into your diet. This include flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, Siberian cedar nuts and sunflower seeds. While detoxing, avoid nut butters.

10. Omega-3 Oils

Use hemp, avocado, olive oils or flax seed oil while detoxing. This will help lubricate the intestinal walls, allowing the toxins to be absorbed by the oil, and eliminated by the body.

Source:  Global Healing Center/Natural Health & Organic Living.

Coming Summer 2011

Total Body Plyometric Workout

Many athletes and coaches use Plyometrics to build power, speed, improve coordination, agility and sports performance.  Speed and Strength are important components of fitness and involved in virtually all athletic movements.

The following is a Total Body Program I tried out with one of my volleyball players.  You can print this out and maybe incorporate into your training, enjoy!

NOTE **This is not a program for a beginner.  These are high risk exercises and if performed incorrectly or performed without a solid base of training plyometrics can increase the risk of injury.**

Total Body Plyometric Workout

- 5 Lower Body Plyometric Workout 

For each exercise do 10-15 repetitions for 1 set, 2-3 sets

Side-to-Side Ankle Hops, Single Foot

Equipment: Two marks on the ground (cones, tape X's, etc.) 3-4 feet apart.

Begin by standing on one leg next to one of the marks on the ground, feet at shoulder width and your arms relaxed, hanging at your sides.

• Hop back and forth between the marks on the floor, landing on your right foot near the right mark and you left foot next to the left mark.

Standing Jump-&-Reach

Equipment: A wall or hanging object.

Begin by standing straight, feet at shoulder width and arms relaxed at your sides.

• Squat slightly and then jump upward as high as you can. Extend your arms up above your head to try to grab the object, or mark as high as you've jumped on the wall.

• Repeat.

Standing Jump over an Obstacle

Equipment: A cone, low hurdle, or other object 12-24 inches high to jump over.

Begin by standing straight, feet at shoulder width and arms relaxed at your sides.

• Bending slightly at the hips, jump over the obstacle. Keep you body upright and tuck your knees up & together, toward your chest, to clear the obstacle.

• Land, turn around, and jump over the obstacle again.

Squat Jump

Equipment: OPTIONAL Barbell or dumbbells that weight up to 60% of the exerciser's body-weight.

Start standing straight up, holding your weights if you have them.

• Drop slowly to a low squat position, thighs at a right angle to the upper body and parallel to the floor. Squat and stand back up 5 times.

• Drop quickly into the low squat position and stand up quickly. Do this 5 times.

• Drop into the squat position quickly and jump explosively upward into the air 5 times.

• This makes 1 set of Squat Jumps.

Pike Jump, Split

Equipment: None.

Begin by standing straight, feet at shoulder width and arms relaxed at your sides.

• Bending slightly at your hips and knees, jump up as high as possible.

• Doing your best to keep your legs straight, bring them up to either side of you and bend forward to try to touch your toes with your hands at the peak of your jump.

• As soon as you land, jump again.

- 3 Upper Body Plyometric Workout Exercises -

Clapping Push-up

Equipment: None.

Start on the ground, hands at shoulder width and toes on the floor in a regular push-up position.

• Drop quickly all the way down to the floor, and then push-up explosively into the air.

• While in the air, clap you hands together once before you drop to the ground and start you next push-up.

Incline Depth Jump Push-ups

Equipment: A box that's high enough to raise your feet above your head when you're down in a push-up position. Also, mats to place your hands on.

Start on the ground, hands at shoulder width and toes on the floor in a regular push-up position, but with your feet up on the box. Your hands will start in-between the mats, on the floor.

• Explosively push up, off the floor and into the air for your push-up and then land by catching yourself with both hands on the mats in a push-up position (which will be a slightly wider hand placement than when you started).

• Reset you hands on the floor and then push up and off the floor again.

Elevated Explosive Push-ups

Equipment: 3 Boxes, stacks of books, or other objects of the same altitude (6 - 12 inches off the floor) that you can position you hands and feet on.

Start in a push-up position with your hands and feet on the 3 boxes, hands at shoulder width and with your arms extended. Your feet will stay on their box for the entire time.

• Take your hands off the boxes and drop to the floor.

• Absorb as little of the impact against the floor as you can and then explosively push yourself back into the air.

• Coming down from the explosive floor push-up, catch yourself with your hands on the boxes.

• That's one rep.

• After absorbing just as much of the impact on the boxes as necessary, push-up explosively into the air to start the sequence all over again.

There, that's the entire plyometric workout. You can use it to get benefits for a variety of sports, or just to jump higher and have your punches snap out faster.

Keep Calm and Eat Healthy

"Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food." Hippocrates

Today's lunch was spectacular so I had to share it with you!  Most health conscious people eat salads quite often.  Romaine lettuce, Boston, Green Leaf, Endive & Radicchio, etc. and that can get boring.  So today I put together a medley of Organic Baby Spinach, Shredded Green Cabbage, Chopped Broccoli, Diced Carrots, Red Cabbage, Jicama, Green Bell Peppers, Radish & Celery, topped off with mini pearl Grape Tomatoes!  It was really delicious and a great change from my usual Romaine mix.  

I never use any sort of bottled dressing.  I am strictly an Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Balsamic or Fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon (from my lemon tree), but today's dressing was a nice change. I dressed my salad today with Bragg's Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Bragg's Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, it complimented the shredded cabbage and other vegetables well.  If you don't already use Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar you should definitely try it.

 Apple Cider Vinegar has been highly regarded throughout history.  In 400 B.C. the great Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, used it for its amazing health qualities. 

Some Health benefits listed are:  It's Rich in Enzymes & Potassium, Supports a Healthy Immune System, Helps Control Weight, Promotes Digestion and PH Balance, Helps Soothe Dry Throats, Helps remove Body Sludge Toxins, Helps Maintain Healthy Skin, Helps promote Youthful Healthy Bodies, Soothes Irritated Skin, Relieves Muscle Pain from Exercise.

You can go directly to the website I linked here:  Bragg Live Foods for a host of amazing products I highly recommend and a company you can trust.  Bon Appétit!