New e-book download
Hi Everyone:
Here’s a link for our new e-book called “Training With Bags & Bands”. It’s 100% free to download, just click the link and you’re set. The book talks a bit about the benefits of sandbag and sportband training. It includes a couple of killer sandbag and sportband workouts, along with images of each movement.
Download the FREE e-book here
Got questions on the workouts? exercises? Post them to the comment section below we’ll answer them in detail.
Keep training hard!
Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
Exercise of the Week: Sportband Overhead Squat
As most any educated member of the fitness industry will tell you, a squat is much more than just a leg exercise. In fact, it could be considered a “total body” exercise. Many muscles in both the upper and lower body are fully active during a squat.
Now lets factor in a sportband. Sportbands are a great method of applying resistance. We talk about them a lot on the blog and the main site. They work well because of their portability and durability, but also because they can provide resistances from a few pounds to several hundred pounds. Seriously, a band that provides 200lbs of resistance can practically fit in your coat pocket. It might look a little weird, but it’ll fit. I’ll spare you the sportband backstory in this post, but suffice it to say, we’re big fans of sportbands for a number of reasons.
One of the great exercises you can do with them is the Overhead Squat. The link below will take you to a video from the Hybrid Fitness video database with a full explanation of the movement.
My recommendation would be to start with a light resistance band and move up from there. Try a few repetitions and make sure your shoulders and back are stable. Be sure to move slowy through the motion until you get ccomfortable with body position and mechanics.
Give it a shot and tell us what you think. If you need to know where to get ultra-high quality sportbands, we recommend you go here. Tell them Hybrid Fitness sent you.
If you want to create videos like this for yourself for yourself, your clients or a blog/website, go here.
Until next time, keep training hard!
Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
The 3X3 Routine: (The hardest nine sets you will ever do)
This style of workout has probably been around in one form or another for quite some time. I first heard about it when doing some research on the work of Matt Brzycki, Coordinator of Health Fitness, Strength and Conditioning at Princeton University. Along with his duties at Princeton, Brzycki is a prolific author whose many works are focused on safe, rational and efficient training methods.
A 3×3 Workout is basically a multiple-joint hip movement followed by a multiple-joint chest movement followed by a multiple-joint upper back movement and repeated two more times with as little rest between exercises as possible.
Sequence one: You should reach muscle failure at about 20 reps for the hip exercise, 12 for the chest exercise and 12 for the upper back exercise.
Sequence two: Repetition goals would be 15 for the hip exercise, 10 for the chest exercise and 10 for the upper back exercise.
Sequence Three: Repetition goals of 12 for the hip exercise, 8 for the chest exercise and 8 for the upper back exercise.
A typical exercise selection for a 3X3 workout might be:
1. Squat - Bench Press - Barbell Row
2. Leg Press - Dip - Chin
3. Deadlift - Standing Press - Pull-down (palms in)
When doing the 3X3 routine it’s critical that you perform every set to muscle failure. It’s also important that you move quickly between exercises with as little rest as possible. The length of the recovery between exercises will depend upon your present level of metabolic conditioning.
If done properly you should be able to finish an entire 3X3 workout in about 10-15 minutes. Doing these types of workouts gives you the total package: strength, endurance and mental toughness.
WARNING: these workouts are much harder then they may appear. Only attempt them if you have a great fitness base and are used to workouts with a high anaerobic output and minimal rest periods.
PAU for NOW
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
For Brzycki’s Ideas on H.I.T., go here:
For a list of Brzycki’s books, go here:
Interview at Maxcondition.com
Hey Everyone:
I recently did an interview with Coach Hale at www.maxcondition.com. Please take a moment to check it out.
http://www.maxcondition.com/page.php?120
That’s all for now. Thanks and please feel free to post any comments on the article.
Pau for now.
Taku
www.hybridfitness.tv
Exercise of the Week: 3 Great Push-up Variations
Looking for a little variety in your training? Give these push-up variations a shot. Push-ups are one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do. Mixing up how the movement is performed can have a profound impact on the intensity of the exercise.
These variations may look simple, but they get challenging very quickly.
http://www.hybridfitnessvideos.com/showPlaylist.php?1230768490
Post any thoughts / questions to the comments section.
Good luck & keep training hard!
Jason
By the way, we have dozens more push-up variations available as well as hundreds of other exercises in the video database at www.hybridfitness.tv Access to the database and the ability to export custom video playlists are available to all Hybrid Fitness members.
Exercise of the Week: Divebomber Push-Up (with VIDEO)
Hi Everyone:
This is a follow up to an earlier post on the divebomber pushup. The post got a lot of traffic and some great feedback, so I decided to post it again, this time with a video.
Click the link below to watch the video. There is a feature on the video player that gives a description of every exercise in a particular playlist. When watching the video, just click on the area titled “Exercise Description” and a it’ll appear immediately.
Feel Free to link to this post or copy the link and send it out. If you want to make your own video playlists, custom workouts or just see and read how hundreds of exercises are performed, come over to Hybrid Fitness and check it out for yourself. See you there.
Keep training hard!
Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
“Functional”
What’s in a word?
The term functional training has been around for years. When I first started working in the fitness industry “Functional Training” meant working with compound movements like Squats, Presses, and Rows.
In the recent past it has become an industry buzz-word. Some trainers have built their careers around this term while other greedy equipment manufacturers, eager to make a quick buck, have created scores of mediocre products that are somehow supposed to enhance ones ability to train “functionally” more so then another modality.
When I train myself or my clients, I am all about simplicity. I want to get my job done in the most efficient way possible, when it comes to time. Ask anyone who trains with me and they will tell you the training is always challenging but little if any time is ever wasted. If I am working with an athlete whose sport requires lifting weights with specific technique such as a power lifter or an Olympic style weightlifter then you better believe we will focus some time on lifting technique. But if my client just wants to be in better shape, then outside of safety considerations and proper form how or what we lift is not that important.
The tools we use and the exercises we perform with those tools are not functional merely because they exist. To quote my Friend, Tom Kelso, one of the brightest and best strength coaches I have ever had the pleasure of speaking with: “A functional’ exercise is any exercise you do that makes you stronger. Read: any exercise that creates overload on a muscle and is done progressively is functional. Last time I checked, ALL muscle groups were important at some point for proper athletic skill execution and injury prevention.”
So don’t get too bogged down by what is functional and what is not. If you are training hard and safe and all of your major muscle groups are being challenged progressively, you are on the right track. Remember to design conditioning drills that match the energy system demands of your sport and you can’t go wrong.
PAU for NOW
Have a plan
Goal Setting for Sports or Life
If you read my article about peaking for competition you may have thought “cool, this is just what I have been looking for”. However if you do not compete at any particular sport then you may be asking yourself what does an article about peaking for competition have to do with me?
The truth is we all train better when we have a specific goal in mind. Your goal may be an athletic one like running faster or jumping higher or it may be an aesthetically based one like losing some body fat or just looking good naked. Finally your goal may just be to improve on a personal best like adding 50lbs to your bench press. The goal itself is not as important as the fact that you have one. Once you have established the specifics you must then go about creating a plan to help you reach your goal in the most efficient way possible.
Remember when it comes to goal setting, the more specific the better. Just telling yourself “I want to get in shape” or “I want to lose some weight”, is not specific. You have to ask your self, in shape for what? How much weight do I want to lose? You will find that the more specific your goal the easier designing and implementing your training program will become. Create a sense of urgency by setting your goal within a time frame such as: “I want to lose 10lbs by April first or I want to run 3 miles in under 20 minutes by May first.”
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Peaking for Competition (Taku’s Intervals: PHASE 4)
In sports the competitive season marks the boundaries of your training cycle(s). For sports such as Football, Basketball etc, you can plan according to the needs or goals of each block such as pre-season, in-season, and post- season. For sports with little or no structured season such as MMA and other combat sports then a more “structured-improvisational” style of planning may be used. Regardless of the sport, the goal of any well designed strength and conditioning program is always the same. Have the athlete(s) at their peak when it is time to compete.
I created my original interval program as a supplemental endurance training plan for combat athletes. I wanted to move people towards energy system specific endurance training and away from wasting valuable time on outdated methods which were not serving their needs. Although it has worked well and continues to do so for thousands of athletes around the world, I soon saw the need for an even more specific peaking protocol that could be used when preparing for an actual fight or competition. It was with this in mind that I created the fourth phase of my interval program.
The following program details are outlined based on the assumption that you have used or at least read my original interval program. Remember Phase 4 was designed with competition preparation in mind. If you have never done any interval training I suggest you start with the first three phased plan and work up to this one.
For those of you familiar with my original plan you will notice Phase 4 incorporates maintenance days that use the phase 3 protocols along with days that use longer and shorter work and recovery times. On these “new” days drop the two five minute steady state sections from your 15-minute warm-up period and go directly from the five minutes “easy” to the intervals. As before, finish with a 5-minute cool-down period. This program is designed to expose you to a wider range of stressors then the original plan. On all the work intervals with longer rest periods you should be striving to push to the max, hold nothing back.
On the training days that have multiple sprint intervals during one session, you will complete one set of intervals, rest approximately 2-3 minutes and continue with the next set of intervals. Repeat these work/rest cycles until the entire workout is completed. As your conditioning improves, you will find that the intervals become easier which should translate to more gas in your tank wether on the mat or in the cage.
To add these to a pre-competition schedule, find the date of your event and count back to the start of the phases. If you have never done intervals, start with phase 1 and work up from there. If you have done intervals, just adapt these into your current schedule. Be sure to have a few days (2-3 at least) off from these just before fight day. The days of the week are just examples, work these interval days in to your routine on whatever days work best.
PHASE 4
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Week 4 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 4X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 6X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10 X
Week 4 Friday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 10X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 12X
The original Taku’s Intervals program is available in the “Free Workouts” section at www.hybridfitness.tv. We plan to launch soon and we’ll keep you updated on the status.
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Peaking for Competition (Taku’s Intervals: PHASE 4)
In sports the competitive season marks the boundaries of your training cycle(s). For sports such as Football, Basketball etc, you can plan according to the needs or goals of each block such as pre-season, in-season, and post- season. For sports with little or no structured season such as MMA and other combat sports then a more “structured-improvisational” style of planning may be used. Regardless of the sport, the goal of any well designed strength and conditioning program is always the same. Have the athlete(s) at their peak when it is time to compete.
I created my original interval program as a supplemental endurance training plan for combat athletes. I wanted to move people towards energy system specific endurance training and away from wasting valuable time on outdated methods which were not serving their needs. Although it has worked well and continues to do so for thousands of athletes around the world, I soon saw the need for an even more specific peaking protocol that could be used when preparing for an actual fight or competition. It was with this in mind that I created the fourth phase of my interval program.
The following program details are outlined based on the assumption that you have used or at least read my original interval program. Remember Phase 4 was designed with competition preparation in mind. If you have never done any interval training I suggest you start with the first three phased plan and work up to this one.
For those of you familiar with my original plan you will notice Phase 4 incorporates maintenance days that use the phase 3 protocols along with days that use longer and shorter work and recovery times. On these “new” days drop the two five minute steady state sections from your 15-minute warm-up period and go directly from the five minutes “easy” to the intervals. As before, finish with a 5-minute cool-down period. This program is designed to expose you to a wider range of stressors then the original plan. On all the work intervals with longer rest periods you should be striving to push to the max, hold nothing back.
On the training days that have multiple sprint intervals during one session, you will complete one set of intervals, rest approximately 2-3 minutes and continue with the next set of intervals. Repeat these work/rest cycles until the entire workout is completed. As your conditioning improves, you will find that the intervals become easier which should translate to more gas in your tank wether on the mat or in the cage.
To add these to a pre-competition schedule, find the date of your event and count back to the start of the phases. If you have never done intervals, start with phase 1 and work up from there. If you have done intervals, just adapt these into your current schedule. Be sure to have a few days (2-3 at least) off from these just before fight day. The days of the week are just examples, work these interval days in to your routine on whatever days work best.
PHASE 4
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Week 4 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 4X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 6X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10 X
Week 4 Friday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 10X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 12X
The original Taku’s Intervals program is available in the “Free Workouts” section at www.hybridfitness.tv. We plan to launch soon and we’ll keep you updated on the status.
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
