As with all other aspects of fitness, it’s about consistency. One way to motivate yourself to keep going is to remember the many health benefits burpees can provide.
Here, we’ll teach you how to do a burpee before running through seven reasons why you should incorporate the exercise into your daily workout routine.
There are many burpee variations you can choose from, and you can select the style of burpee that works best for you based on your needs and current level of fitness. You can do simpler exercises as you work up to the burpee. Once you master the standard burpee, you can change things up in the motion to make the exercise more challenging.
Let's start at the beginning.
Now that you know how to do a burpee, let’s go over the seven main reasons why you should do this exercise on a consistent basis.
The burpee is a simple yet effective tool for a total body workout. It’s a great way to work most of your body’s major muscle groups to efficiently strengthen your upper and lower body. Even extremities like your hands get a workout!
Every burpee helps to strengthen your:
Practically a total body workout, burpees are an excellent exercise to help you get in shape fast.
Burpees combine both cardio and strength training. When done properly and consistently, the exercise provides a high-intensity workout that is sure to not only condition your muscles, but also get your heart pumping, your lungs working, and the sweat flowing.
The exercise is also a clever way to gauge your fitness. If you start feeling sore after just a few burpees, your challenge will be strength-based; if you catch yourself running out of breath, your challenge will be cardiovascular and stamina-based. The nice thing about burpees is that the exercise helps you develop on both fronts.
Start by setting a timer for three minutes and see how many burpees you can complete in that amount of time. Even if you complete just a few burpees every day, you will start to notice improvement over time — you will be able to do more reps in that three-minute timeframe over the course of weeks or months.
Because burpees double as cardio and strength training, the exercise is a go-to choice for folks who want to burn calories and fat.
In just one minute, you might be able to burn upwards of 15 calories. Over time, this will mean helping you lose fat.
Remember, the burpee provides practically a full body workout. All the muscles involved will need to work extra hard, and they’ll use up calories for the energy they need and ultimately help you to slim down.
Your core muscles are important for providing stability and reducing the risk of injuries. Burpees are an effective workout for your core muscles, as you’ll need to keep your core engaged from start to finish.
Incorporating burpees into your workout routine is a great strategy if you’re looking to target your abs while strengthening other muscle groups at the same time.
Because burpees target so many muscles and involve a wide range of motion, they can help improve your mobility, balance, and coordination. When you do burpees on a consistent basis, your body will become stronger, your health will improve, and you will move better and feel better.
One of the biggest advantages that comes with doing burpees is that you can do them anywhere, anytime, without any equipment whatsoever! You don’t need to go to a gym or invest in fitness equipment like treadmills or ellipticals.
You can do burpees from the comfort of your own home. You don’t need a lot of space either; even if you are travelling, you can do some burpees in your hotel room so you don’t skip a beat in your workout routine — no excuses!
When you have mastered the classic burpee and feel ready for a new challenge, there are many burpee variations you can choose from.
For instance, you can:
You can also vary the intensity of your burpees — take a short breather between each burpee, go for slow and controlled burpees, or try to crank out as many burpees as you can in three minutes!
Burpees are a powerful, effective, and comprehensive bodyweight exercise that provides numerous health and fitness benefits. Even if you don’t do a full workout every day, performing a few burpees on a consistent basis will give your body boosts of energy and keep your muscles strong. Get started with burpees today and be sure to check out the LiveFit Blog for more fitness tips and tricks!
]]>Let's talk about couples' fitness.
Normally, you head to the gym to lift some weights. In the back corner of the facility, you and a bunch of other dudes lifting weights grunt and groan while trying to do “one more rep bro!”
Meanwhile, your significant other is taking a spinning class at another health and fitness facility across town.
Fitness is important to both of you, but you just don't know how to exercise as a couple when you both have different fitness interests.
When you get home, you both feel good from your respective workouts. But you wonder...
There have been numerous studies that show couples who exercise together find they stick to a workout program longer and maintain a healthier relationship. One study, from the Department of Kinesiology at Indiana University, surveyed married couples who joined health clubs together and found that couples who worked out separately had a 43 percent dropout rate over the course of a year. Those who go to the gym together, regardless of whether they focused on the same type of exercise, had only a 6.3 percent dropout rate.”
Everyone knows that having a gym buddy is a great tool that helps a lot of people stay accountable and dedicated to their fitness goals. So, it makes sense that more couples are looking to become each other’s fitness partner. Besides, who knows you better or spends more time with you than your significant other?
So maybe you are intrigued but you have a problem. You don't enjoy spinning classes and your lady has no interest in joining the cavemen in the free weight room.
Is there another way the two of you can exercise together in a way that makes everyone happy?
There is a workout for couples, and you're about to find out what it looks like.
This workout is one of my all-time favorites for couples or partners. It's called you go-I go because the structure is just like it sounds; you do one set of an exercise, then your partner does a set.
It's simple to follow, and an ideal setup for two people who have different fitness levels. For example, you can do twenty push-ups in a set, but your partner can only do seven. No problem. As you perform your set, your partner rests. Then you rest while your partner does her set.
It may seem unfair that one of you rests for longer, but it works itself out during the training session. Each person is challenged relative to his/her own fitness level.
Let's dive into the workout here. This example will require no equipment or fitness trainer. Just your body weight.
Remember- you go, I go. When your set is complete, your partner begins her set, and vice versa, until all sets are finished.
HIIT (High-intensity interval training) is discussed in detail in "From Fad to Fact: HIIT Training Just Plain Works."
For this workout, you will still be following the “you go, I go” structure but instead of body-weight exercises, you'll be using one of my favorite pieces of equipment for interval training- an Airdyne bike or rower.
Check out the Airdyne Bike:
Does this mean that you have to exercise together all the time? Not at all! You can still hit the weights as your partner goes spinning. But if you want to experience the benefits of working out together, schedule a day or two each month. Get sweaty and have fun!
About the Author
Jim White is a freelance contributor for G&G fitness. He's also a personal trainer and owner of Strength Essentials716. He loves helping people build Strength for Life. When he's not writing or training clients, he loves hiking and howling at the moon. He has a natural ability to see great potential in you, even if you can't see it in yourself. Jim also enjoys long walks on the beach and classic novels. Find out more at strengthessentials716.com
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In this post, we’ll explain the basics of HIIT training, lay out why you should add it to your workout routine, and provide some sample workouts to help get you started.
HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. HIIT workouts feature short bursts of intense exercise punctuated by brief periods of rest. Most HIIT workouts entail 30 seconds to one minute of exercise at maximum intensity, alternating with periods of moderate intensity. There are many variations of HIIT exercises, but the basic principles are the same across all cardio HIIT training routines. The idea is to push yourself to your limit by maximizing aerobic activity, and then give yourself brief periods to recover in between intervals of intense effort. You’ll be working really hard, but only in short bursts so your HIIT workouts never feel like slogs.
Cardio HIIT training can make your workouts more effective. HIIT training:
HIIT brings intense momentary stress to your body, which forces your cells to become more efficient. Even though you work out for shorter bursts of time, HIIT workouts bring longer lasting benefits to your body than steady-state cardio.
Beyond their health benefits, HIIT workouts are generally shorter in duration than traditional workouts, so they’re easier to fit into your busy days. Because they vary in intensity, they also help keep you from falling into boring exercise ruts.
You can get all the health benefits of cardio HIIT training with a treadmill or elliptical workout—and maybe even shorten your workout as well. Use the sample plans below as starting points to incorporate HIIT training into your cardio routine.
Follow this plan for a powerful HIIT treadmill workout that will push your body to its limit. For this workout, adjust your treadmill’s incline and speed during your maximum intensity periods as needed.
HIIT can “hit” just as hard on an elliptical. Adjust the resistance and incline for this HIIT elliptical workout to suit your fitness level. The interval timings for this exercise plan should work well with a pumped-up playlist to get you moving!
Once you start to find your aerobic edge, you can adjust the length and intensity of these workouts as needed. The most important thing to remember is to alternate between maximum and moderate intensity during your main workout. Get ready to sweat!
Cardio HIIT training will rev up your metabolism, boost your cardiovascular health, and maximize your workout efficiency. You can vary the length and intensity of your workouts to suit and push your maximum aerobic capacity.
If you’re searching for a treadmill or elliptical machine that can stand up to your intense HIIT workouts, check out the range of exercise equipment at your local G&G Fitness Equipment store.
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It’s easy to assume that spending longer in the gym will help you to reap the rewards. However, a longer workout doesn’t mean that you’re getting fitter. Studies have shown that a minute of intense exercise can produce the same benefits as a 45 minute workout. If you prefer a brisk jog on the treadmill, it might be time to switch up your workout routine.
Interval training involves completing high intensity workouts in short bursts, followed by a short rest, which is why it’s also known as a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. Eight seconds of high intensity interval training, followed by 12 seconds of lower intensity exercise over a 20 minute period, three times per week, has been shown to produce more weight loss than exercising steadily for double the time.
HIIT workouts help you to burn calories for up to 2 hours after exercising. The exercise post-oxygen intake your body needs after HIIT workouts require more calories than regular exercise, helping you to lose weight faster.
HIIT workouts can include cycle or treadmill sprints, jumping with a rope, burpees, kettlebell swings, box jumps, and more.
Listening to music before and during your workout gets you pumped up and ready to take on whatever fitness challenge comes your way. Music has also been shown to make exercise feel easier, helping you to take on more difficult workouts.
So, what music should you listen to? Try making a playlist of your favorite songs, especially those that make you feel good. Music increases your levels of serotonin, a hormone which boosts your overall sense of well-being, and aids recovery.
Losing water can make your workouts feel tougher. Many people sweat out up to 10% of their body weight, significantly impacting your performance during exercise and your recovery. To avoid feeling lethargic during exercise and prevent cramping, it’s important to drink enough water.
Drink water throughout the day. You should aim to drink up to 20 ounces in the one to two hours before your workout, followed by up to 10 ounces in the 15 minutes immediately before. During your workout session, drink 8 ounces of water every 15 minutes. You may need to drink more during hot weather or if you’re sweating profusely.
Eating protein or consuming a protein shake before bed may increase muscle mass and strength, according to one review study. Consuming 30 grams of protein up to 30 minutes before bed in combination with resistance training boosts the effectiveness of your workout.
Protein contains amino acids which build muscle, while resistance workouts rebuild muscle tissue. By consuming protein before bed, your muscles are gaining extra fuel for growth and repair. If you’re worried about gaining weight, the good news is that protein consumed before bed is used for muscle protein synthesis which won’t make you gain weight.
Your pre-workout is just as important as your main fitness routine. Start your pre-workout with a few stretches. Dynamic stretches which get the body moving rather than being stationary raise your body temperature and prime your muscles. Different types of dynamic stretches, including torso twists and walking lunges, enhance your speed and agility, aiding your main workout session.
Foam rolling is another form of pre-workout which helps you to get the most out of your fitness session. Foam rolling involves ‘rolling’ parts of your body over a foam cylinder. Research has shown that foam rolling enhances muscle flexibility, while a small study found that it may reduce muscle soreness to improve your overall workout performance.
Foam rolling before your workout relieves any tightness in your muscles by undoing knots in the tissue which surrounds your muscles. If you’re looking for a more effective workout routine, paying attention to tight areas of your body in your pre-workout can make a real difference.
Zoe Wells is a health and wellness copywriter based in the UK. When not writing, she can be found with a book or getting acquainted with the great outdoors"
]]>When done properly, both high and low impact types of exercise are excellent for helping you get your body into shape. In this case, “impact” refers to the action of one object coming into contact with the other—on the body. High impact workouts come into contact with the floor, equipment, etc. harder and more often. Low impact workouts come into contact with very little. There are also “no impact” activities, like swimming, that may not come into contact at all.
Exercise can be broken down into two main categories: high impact and low impact. Which one is better? Generally speaking, the question is not what will make you the fittest—in fact, a combination of both high and low impact movement is often best—but what is most appropriate for you. To determine the answer, let’s look at the differences between the two types of exercise:
High impact workouts are defined as those that move both feet off the ground at the same time. Examples include cross training—such as jumping off plyo boxes or doing burpees—running, jumping jacks, or knee-highs. Popular high intensity training programs include CrossFit, Insanity, and P90X.
Low impact workouts are the ones that require you to leave at least one foot off the ground. Examples include cycling, cardio on the elliptical machine, hiking, yoga, Pilates, and dancing. Because there is less impact, these exercises tend to be gentler on the joints and muscles.
High Impact Exercises |
Low Impact Exercises |
Running |
Swimming |
Cross-Fit |
Walking |
Calistenics |
Yoga |
Jumping Rope |
Cycling |
Tennis |
Pilates |
Hiking |
Spinning |
You Want to Lose Weight Quickly — High impact activities inherently require more energy, and therefore calories, to be burned. Think of high impact as the most “bang for the buck” when it comes to exercise. You’ll be able to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, so it’s ideal for those aiming for fast weight loss.
You Want a Tougher Challenge —In general, high impact activities tend to be more intense, so they’re not for the faint of heart and often aren’t the best choice for beginners. However, if your goal is to condition your body to be in the best possible shape—and you aren’t afraid to push really hard to get there—then going high impact may help you get better results in a shorter time period.
You're Training for Competition — Whether it is a boxing match, a marathon, or a fitness competition, high intensity exercises will help ready you for the big match-up. The fact is that these exercises are all-around more efficient, so they’re generally better for any application where there’s a deadline.
You want to Improve Bone Density — Studies show that, though it sounds counter-intuitive, high impact activity is good for your bones. In fact, scientists have found that regularly subjecting the bones to abrupt stress helps them grow and strengthen. If you’re older and not at risk of injury or simply want to boost your bone density, then signing up for some high impact exercises is a great idea.
You're at a Low Risk for Injury — High impact exercise is generally harder on the body and is more likely to cause orthopedic injury. The harder, more consistent impact effectively puts more strain on the body’s joints, muscles, and tendons, so this type of exercise is generally not recommended for anyone who’s at a higher injury risk. This includes the elderly, pregnant women, and those with certain bone disorders.
You're Injured and Recovering — If you’re trying to stay off of a particular joint or muscle that has been troublesome for you in the past, it’s best to keep things low impact. This is especially true if you have suffered from an orthopedic injury in the past or have undergone a joint replacement surgery. Keeping the impact low will help you recover faster so you can get back to high impact activity with time.
You prefer to Go Easy on the Joints — If you’ve ever come away from the treadmill or trail with sore joints, you may be putting too much stress on your body. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should cut out the high impact training altogether, but that you should pepper in more low impact exercises to give your joints a break.
To Improve Alignment and Balance — Often, low impact workouts focus more on strength, stretching, balance, and alignment than burning calories and building power. Low impact exercises, such as Pilates and yoga, can do wonders for improving your balance and alignment.
To Take a Break from Cardio — Just because it’s low impact doesn’t mean it’s easy. You can still get your heart rate up and enjoy big calorie burns without going high impact. Consider intense low impact exercises, like boxing with a trainer, rowing, or strength training. It’s not a bad idea to change things up from regular high impact cardio to intense low impact exercise every so often.
By and large, all physical activity is good physical activity, so long as it’s done properly and it doesn’t subject your body to needless stress. When designing your personal workout regimen, it’s always a good idea to speak with a professional, such as a coach, a trainer, or your physician. He or she will be able to advise you on which type of movement is best for you based on your unique fitness goals and your medical history. Remember that exercise is not a one-size-fits-all game, and individual consideration must be taken from one athlete to the next.
Albert Guardado Jr. is a retired boxer and current Product Support Supervisor for combat Brands. Albert oversees the product portfolio for all three branches of Combat Brands. He was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team (Atlanta, GA) and former member of USA Boxing’s Board of Directors. Albert is a three-time USA Boxing National Champion, as well as the 1992 National P.A.L. Champion. He also medaled in the 1993 World Championships, 1994 Goodwill Games and 1995 Pan-American Games. Albert continues to share his extensive boxing knowledge by coaching, blogging and assisting with tournament administration at events supported by Combat Brands.
]]>What was it that made this “fat-jiggling slimming machine” a trend back in the 1960’s? Why is it the butt of every fitness joke today?
While the Belt Vibrator started off as simple massage device for spas, it quickly morphed into a machine that promised body fat spot reduction and muscle toning. It wasn’t popular because it worked; it was popular because it was marketed very intelligently and targeted to people who desperately wanted a cure-all to trim down.
When you are shopping for a new loveseat or flat screen television, you don’t necessarily have to do research. No . . . other than possibly exacerbating a sedentary lifestyle, those products don’t have to be thoroughly vetted by you to ensure that you won’t succumb to repetitive motion injuries, or that the product won’t fail under the stress of the wear and tear that comes along with exercising on a static piece of equipment.
After all, it’s the 21st century, and we are exponentially more technologically sophisticated than we were six decades ago. Right?
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but the answer is . . . “nope."
It’s a lot worse today; there’s a lot of misleading – and somewhat comical– products on the market right this minute that are more likely to become a glorified clothes hanger or paper weight, than be the true catalyst for those rock-hard abs you hope to achieve.
Most of these products use the same formula: they are appealing to your desires to have a beach body like the model you see on the covers of those fitness magazines. Phrases are tossed around like our favorite:
The reality is, there’s a lot of research that already exists that you can use to get you to those goals, without spending your hard-earned money on something that promises the impossible.
Here’s the rub. Yes, the research exists, and yes, you can do it. But before you begin, you need to know that weight loss requires two very important things of you: hard work and patience. Be cognizant of those things, and yes, you can get there!
Now if you have been paying attention, you will have noticed something interesting. Hard work and patience are the antithesis of those quick-fix products, are they not? After all, they are marketed to be quick and easy. This is the simple reason why these products do not work. And people fall for it, because they want it to be true.
Now don’t get me wrong . . . there are some amazing new products out there in their infancy, that can absolutely maximize your time. The difference is, you must do the work! I will always advocate for shorter, more intense workouts, rather than longer, steady state sessions. Take the new Octane Max Trainer (now available at G&G stores): the best program you can do on the machine is the 14-minute high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout.
Absolutely, but you had better put in the work, and if you aren’t feeling completely drained when that last bell rings, you didn’t work hard enough, and you left something on the table.
Before sitting down to write this, I did back-to-back HIIT workouts on the treadmill (20 minutes) and the Max (14 minutes). I kept my rate of perceived exertion as close as I could on both pieces (around 8-9 for my bursts, and 2-3 for recoveries). My results: 282 calories burned on the treadmill, 275 calories burned on the Max. Shaving six minutes off my workout and not really sacrificing a lot of workout efficiency is a win for someone who needs to maximize their time. Also, I felt much more aggressive posterior chain activation on the Max.
Bio-mechanically, I like the angle much better than other HIIT trainers; my spine was neutral for most of the workout and I didn’t notice myself excessively leaning forward, or a lot of involuntary dorsiflexon, which was apparent on the other Max trainers.
My advice is to approach it using three, very simple steps:
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]]>When HIIT Training first got attention as the new buzzword-of-choice, my immediate reaction was to label it a “fad” and stick with the basics of cardio: Steady-state training, fat-burning zone, and a rhythmic (albeit sometimes boring) consistency. But, as the world of fitness science learned more and more, we came to understand that HIIT Training wasn't going anywhere, with good reason.
With HIIT Training essentially burning fat more effectively than traditional cardio, most people can cut their workouts in half and still get the desired outcome of fast fat loss combined with the reduced risk for stroke or heart attack. Plus, while the high-intensity intervals require some very hard work, most people enjoy that they’ll spend more time in the rest-interval than in the hard intervals, meaning that you never need to work too hard for too long.
HIIT workouts are pre-programmed in many of the pieces of fitness equipment offered by G&G Fitness Equipment.
Far from the “bro-science” that it may have first seemed to be, HIIT has turned out to be a very scientifically-justified way to burn fat more quickly and with less boredom… Who can argue with that?
At G&G Fitness Equipment, your goal is our goal! If you have any questions about the equipment we offer, or want to talk to an expert, use the chat feature below, find a location near you, or contact one of our expert fitness equipment consultants.
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