Think holding a planks challenging? Try this movement for 60 seconds. The bear crawl promotes total body stability and strength. This is particularly useful in building strength in your quads, arms and shoulders.Be sure to keep your knees hovering just over the ground about 1/2 inch. As you hold/move in the bear crawl be sure to breathe through your diaphragm keeping your core muscles engaged.
In today’s episode you will learn the importance of practicing what I call “Active Standing” during your dynamic warm ups and strength movements. You’ll also learn how to incorporate Active Standing into your daily routine for overall health. I also discuss the importance of being Fat Efficient or “Metabolically Efficient” if you are an obstacle racer, and just how you need to eat and monitor your overall health to utilize your 80,000 calories of stored fat for fuel.
CLICK HERE to listen or download from iTunes for later
Here is my Active Standing Challenge video demo
Being strong and fast all starts with having a strong core. This is a great total body movement involving your back, shoulders, hip/quad, and of course your abs/core to stabilize your spine. Be sure to keep your spine in a neutral position, not allowing you low back to arch. Start easy with a light dumb bell or med-ball.
Check it out!
In this episode you will learn why it is important to increase both mobility and strength. Regardless if you are an elite endurance athlete or just someone who likes to be active, this podcast will give you insights on the importance of being flexible and strong for both athletic performance and life. Along with this my guest and I discuss why your “bad knees” are more than likely due to muscular imbalances and how you can quickly correct this problem and be free to run, bike, lift and be active. Plus I share Alix’s Paleo Bread recipe!! CLICK HERE to listen or download on iTunes for later.
Alix’s Paleo Bread Recipe:
Yep.. You read that right… Dumbbell Burpee… No other movement, to my knowledge, sends a shutter down your spine like the burpee. But just like fresh veggies to a toddler, it’s probably one of the best moves you can do for mobility and total body strength.
Seriously though, I love incorporating the burpee anytime I can into a clients plan especially when they are short on time for training. No other movement incorporates literally every muscle in your body. The addition on dumbbells will add additional load for the squat/press portion as well as increased depth through your shoulders/chest during the eccentric phase of the push.
As with any new movement or movement where load/weight is added, begin with small dumbbells and move up as you gain strength. I suggest 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. Take a look and let me know how you do!