A few months ago we were approached by Chris with Born Tough and Elite Sports Clothing lines to test out their fitness clothing and determine if we thought it was a good choice for our customers and clients.
Over the summer my husband Jeff has been our testing model. He’s been testing out their long sleeved Men’s Core Fit Shirt over washes, places, spaces, and workouts.
And …
he’s loved working out in it. It’s smooth, quick drying, and moves with him through a variety of workout moves.
It’s fitting but not too tight. The cut and material allow for easy movement between strength, functional, and cardio workouts.
It’s a great go to shirt for whole gym experiences, plus moves between workouts and life at his college administration job with no fuss.
As his partner, I really like how soft the shirt is and the fact that it doesn’t smell after a session.
He’s also been able to use it as a comfortable base layer in our chilly mountain air camping and hiking through the Colorado Rockies.
He’s been trying it out in the studio, our cabin in northwestern Wisconsin, and outside in Colorado with similar results even when the weather was hot and muggy on a bike ride by the river.
Here’s a few shots of the shirt (and Jeff) in action.
Looking for an intense workout with speed and weights? Try this Tabata Style Weight Workout. Made to do in the gym, at home, or in the park. Workout where you want to be.
Workout Basics and Warm Up
To plan your workouts think about doing something focused 3-6 times a week and taking 1-3 days of what’s called active rest (clean house, walk the golf course, go for a hike, take the dog for a long walk, do squats throughout the day – link it to every time you go to the bathroom for example.
This movement is important for recovery and allows your body to do something active for fun, wellness, blood flow to the sore spots from your focused workout, etc. This keeps the body oriented toward energy flow and movement.
Making sure to get a weekend workout in is a great way to make sure your active rest days are not consecutive. Consecutive days off can make it harder to return to your focused workouts on Monday.
Make sure to warm up. Spend 5-10minutes doing easy movement, stretching, and allow the muscles you are going to work to “wake up”. Work to include all the big joints and major muscle groups. It’s a great time to get your music right, your shoes tightened or loosened, or make sure you hair is out of your way. By fixing these things now, you are more likely to stay focused on the work portion.
When you complete the round, give yourself a pat on the back, a fist pump, something that celebrates your accomplishment. This is a big deal for helping habits stick, and helps you be realistic about all the hard work you are doing.
If you are unclear about a movement, look it up (Check out my YouTube Tutorials Here). There are lots of resources online that allow you to make sure you have good form. Always work up to adding weight or making a movement less stable. Good form comes first.
The Workout
Complete the following like a Tabata style workout. 8 sets of 20seconds on 10 seconds rest. Complete one full set of each exercise before moving onto the next. Tabata is a fast and hard workout technique. Due to this, you must watch your form. If you use weight be careful not to “throw” the weight with your speed work. Only use as much weight as you can while also keeping good form and control. You might start with weight but not use to complete a whole cycle. Perfectly fine. Just make sure you are listening to your body.
Lawnmower Rows
Run
Kettlebell squats with 90-degree arm pull in
Run
Lunges with weight
Run
Chest Fly
Run
Mighty Mikes with High Row
Run
Mighty Mikes with Chest Press
Run
Bicycle Situps
Run
Spider Plank Walks
External Shoulder Rotation while side-lying on Ball – set of 10 to each side. Keep your elbow in to ensure the use of the small rotator cuff muscles.
Words of Caution …
Please make sure to follow your body. Do not push through pain. Discomfort/Challenge are different than pain. We want to challenge ourselves we do not want to hurt ourselves. Find the level that is right for you and move at that level. Make sure to choose weight and stances that support your body style – if you have to use the wall to do your push ups do that, if you need a chair or a bench use those. Make sure you are doing what you need to do for your body type and current personal level of fitness.
As always have fun living in your body today!
Finish Strong
YOU DID IT!! Now that you have finished the “work” portion, it is time for flexibility training. Spend some time stretching all the muscles you worked – in this workout, it’s full body so give all your major muscles a good stretch. Then grab a good post workout snack. Together these get your muscles ready for tomorrow’s movement and make sure you are ready to meet your goals.
Ready to Make a Change?
And as always, if you are struggling you can schedule a 15 min Q&A appointment to see if it’s time to give yourself the gift of therapy. When else can you talk about yourself for an hour with someone trained to deeply listen to your core, not just the story you tell yourself.
All movement comes from your core – even movement from your feet is connected to the middle of you. Without a strong core your body is operating at a loss. Here’s a workout to make your core strong and ready for anything.
Workout Basics and Warm Up
To plan your workouts think about doing something focused 3-6 times a week and taking 1-3 days of what’s called active rest (clean house, walk the golf course, go for a hike, take the dog for a long walk, do squats throughout the day – link it to every time you go to the bathroom for example.
This movement is important for recovery and allows your body to do something active for fun, wellness, blood flow to the sore spots from your focused workout, etc. This keeps the body oriented toward energy flow and movement.
Making sure to get a weekend workout in is a great way to make sure your active rest days are not consecutive. Consecutive days off can make it harder to return to your focused workouts on Monday.
Make sure to warm up. Spend 5-10minutes doing easy movement, stretching, and allow the muscles you are going to work to “wake up”. Work to include all the big joints and major muscle groups. It’s a great time to get your music right, your shoes tightened or loosened, or make sure you hair is out of your way. By fixing these things now, you are more likely to stay focused on the work portion.
When you complete the round, give yourself a pat on the back, a fist pump, something that celebrates your accomplishment. This is a big deal for helping habits stick, and helps you be realistic about all the hard work you are doing.
If you are unclear about a movement, look it up (Check out my YouTube Tutorials Here). There are lots of resources online that allow you to make sure you have good form. Always work up to adding weight or making a movement less stable. Good form comes first.
Core Starts
Dead Bug – Lying on Back (supine) bring knees up over the hips, bent at 90 degrees. Stretch arms out above your shoulders. Lower one foot and the opposite arm to the ground. Lift and repeat on the other side. Work to keep the abdomen strong and the lower back pressed into the floor. To make it harder straighten leg as you lower the foot, and then increase difficulty by hovering the leg and arm just above the ground before lifting back up.
Alternating Crunches – hold medicine ball in hands, feet high/above hips. Lift the shoulders off the ground as you bring the medicine ball to the outside of one thigh. Alternate sides
Full Stretch Sit-ups – place medicine ball between feet on the floor, knees bent. Sit up and grab medicine ball, roll down bringing the medicine ball above head to the floor with straight arms.
SuperMans – laying prone (on your stomach) on the floor, stretch your arms out in front of you. Lift one arm and the opposite leg off the ground. Alternate sides
Locust Lifts – lay prone with arms outstretched above your head. Lift both legs and arms off the floor at the same time. Hold briefly and lower.
Medicine Ball Plank Set
Stability Plank – place both hands on the medicine ball beneath chest. Hold in high plank position for 30 seconds. Rest. Repeat.
Medicine Ball Pike Rolls – Place both feet on the medicine ball. Lift from the hips and roll into a pike position. Return to plank position.
Quadruped (on all fours) Crunches – Lift and extend one arm and opposite foot. Stretch to move the hand and foot as far apart as you can while keeping the core tight, belly button pulled up to the spine, and hips level.
Reverse Table Top Hold – turn over, place hands behind butt on the floor, fingers pointing away from the body. Feet flat on the floor knees bent. Lift hips up and try to flatten out front of body. For extra challenge aim to straighten legs and point toes or place toes on the medicine ball and hold for stability up level.
Finish Strong
YOU DID IT!! Now that you have finished the “work” portion, it is time for flexibility training. Spend some time stretching all the muscles you worked – in this workout, it’s full body so give all your major muscles a good stretch. Then grab a good post workout snack. Together these get your muscles ready for tomorrow’s movement and make sure you are ready to meet your goals.
Words of Caution …
Please make sure to follow your body. Do not push through pain. Discomfort/Challenge are different than pain. We want to challenge ourselves we do not want to hurt ourselves. Find the level that is right for you and move at that level. Make sure to choose weight and stances that support your body style – if you have to use the wall to do your push ups do that, if you need a chair or a bench use those. Make sure you are doing what you need to do for your body type and current personal level of fitness.
Ready to hit the gym and need to let go of some steam? This workout will blast through any stress you have hanging around. You’ll leave feeling strong, powerful, and ready to take on the world.
Workout Basics and Warm Up
To plan your workouts think about doing something focused 3-6 times a week and taking 1-3 days of what’s called active rest (clean house, walk the golf course, go for a hike, take the dog for a long walk, do squats throughout the day – link it to every time you go to the bathroom for example.
This movement is important for recovery and allows your body to do something active for fun, wellness, blood flow to the sore spots from your focused workout, etc. This keeps the body oriented toward energy flow and movement.
Making sure to get a weekend workout in is a great way to make sure your active rest days are not consecutive. Consecutive days off can make it harder to return to your focused workouts on Monday.
Make sure to warm up. Spend 5-10minutes doing easy movement, stretching, and allow the muscles you are going to work to “wake up”. Work to include all the big joints and major muscle groups. It’s a great time to get your music right, your shoes tightened or loosened, or make sure you hair is out of your way. By fixing these things now, you are more likely to stay focused on the work portion.
When you complete the round, give yourself a pat on the back, a fist pump, something that celebrates your accomplishment. This is a big deal for helping habits stick, and helps you be realistic about all the hard work you are doing.
If you are unclear about a movement, look it up (Check out my YouTube Tutorials Here). There are lots of resources online that allow you to make sure you have good form. Always work up to adding weight or making a movement less stable. Good form comes first.
Workout Warm Up Movements – Do 10 to each side
Arm Circles
Elbows Jabs (up and back) with core rotations – pay attention to pulling the bellybutton toward the spine and allowing movement through the torso without straining the spine.
Diagonal Front Arm Raise with Unweighted Squat – knees over ankles & butt back, like you are using a porta-potty at a music festival and determined not to touch any surfaces or soil yourself 🙂
Body Weight Set 1 – repeat the list 3 times for 30 seconds each movement
180 Jump Squats
Froward / Backward Jumps
Leg Overs
Lateral Walking Pushups
Machine Set 1 – 1 minute as fast as you can
Treadmill Hill Climb – set incline at level high enough to maintain your target heart rate at 60-70%
Body Weight Set 2 – Repeat the list 3 times for 30 seconds each movement
Power Burpees
Plank Clocks to each side
Jumping Lunges
Side Plank Drops
Lateral Shuffle
1 Leg 4 Square Hops
Machine Set 2 – 1 minute as fast as you can
Cross Trainer / Elliptical – Set level to maintain 60-70% target heart rate
Body Weight Set 3 – Repeat the list 3 times for 30 seconds each movement
Oblique Crunch Right Side
Center Sit Ups
Oblique Crunch Left Side
Boat Pose 30 Second Hold
Quadruped Knee to Opposite Elbow – Alternate sides
Finish Strong
YOU DID IT!! Now that you have finished the “work” portion, it is time for flexibility training. Spend some time stretching all the muscles you worked – in this workout, it’s full body so give all your major muscles a good stretch. Then grab a good post workout snack. Together these get your muscles ready for tomorrow’s movement and make sure you are ready to meet your goals.
Words of Caution …
Please make sure to follow your body. Do not push through pain. Discomfort/Challenge are different than pain. We want to challenge ourselves we do not want to hurt ourselves. Find the level that is right for you and move at that level. Make sure to choose weight and stances that support your body style – if you have to use the wall to do your push ups do that, if you need a chair or a bench use those. Make sure you are doing what you need to do for your body type and current personal level of fitness.
Working out alone has its benefits and its struggles. Many people prefer working out with a tribe.
Find your tribe by considering what type(s) of workouts do you like to do? What time of day? Where – inside, outside, a class, a small group? Then begin participating in the activities you like where others who like the same activity are.
At first it may feel awkward and weird – remember you might the new person in class, however stick with it and give relationships a little time to develop. It’s also important to put yourself out there at times.
If you are hanging in the corner making it impossible for others to get to know you, guess what – they won’t. Make sure you smile, make eye contact, and say hello on a regular basis. Making friends takes time and hopefully your time for socializing is limited by the time and effort you put in sweating.
Here’s a little help in case making new friends is the tough part.
