Thursday, April 05, 2007

Weight Loss Workout Exercise Substitutions

While I try not to eat at either of these places (for many reasons), I prefer Subway over Quizno's. You see, at Subway, its easy to choose your topics, because you can see them. At Quizno's, its impossible to quickly choose ingredient substitutions because you can never see what they have behind the counter.

Substitutions are essential for making things run smoothly.

Fortunately, with the TT workouts, I have a vast exercise library that we can come up with plenty of free weight exercise substitutions for exercises you can't do. Here are some examples...


Q: I'm subsituting DB step-ups from the Feb 2007 workout with 1 leg RD's - not enought ceiling height to do any form of step-up. Cool? Got a better idea?

Answer
:
A better exercise would be split squats, Bulgarian split squats, or reverse lunges. 1-leg squats are also good. Do them with the ball between your back and the wall. You'll see that in the February Workout Videos.


Q: Just wanted to ask what a good substitution exercise for the "Good Morning" exercise might be. I have tried the good morning in the past and I just can't ever get comfortable with it. It is probably just my form, but I am still interested in doing another equally challenging exercise in its place. Thanks!

Answer:
The Stability Ball Leg Curl (2 or 1 leg, depending on your fitness level) is a nice substitution. Other options include: Hamstring curl machine or RDL or 1-leg RDL or back extension on ball.


Q: Craig, I'm currently working in software development but realize that I want to work in the fitness industry. Can you tell me how to make the transition? I don't know where to start!

Answer:
Thank you for your email. I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I'm happy to help.

I've been involved in this for all of my adult life...starting with training myself at 16, going to University for Kinesiology, and starting to train others at about 21. You don't need a formal science degree, but you need to do an equivalent amount of studying.

You should find a mentor in your area. This applies to any occupation, not just trainers.

A good trainer/mentor whose philosophies you agree with. Learn from them. Decide what certification you need to get. And start working towards that.

A good coach will recognize a good student and won't care that you have a computers background. And a good coach will appreciate having a "clean slate" to work with.

Alwyn Cosgrove is the #1 guy I recommend

If you have additional specific questions, let me know. 


Q: I recently was injured (non-training injury) and my doctor told me "no strenuous exercise" for 3 weeks. Help! What can I do?

Answer: 
Thanks for your email.

Follow your Doctor's orders - you can't argue with them. Sorry!

Take this time out of the gym to work on your nutrition...try new healthy recipes, develop new healthy habits, and even new foods.

Spend your exercise time trying out relaxation methods to help you deal with stress. Everyone can benefit from less stress.

But whatever you do, make sure it's okay by your Doc.

Get well soon!


Q: Craig how would you change the TT programs as to target them to young teenage girls that want to lose body fat?

Answer:
I would never try to get an average teenage girl to use a structured training program. I couldn't imagine why she would want to do these types of workouts.

She'd probably hate it. A structured workout for a teenage girl? Won't happen.

Why not encourage her to get into dance or sport? You'll have better luck there. Get her involved in something fun. Something social.

And get her eating better. That is the reason for the problem in the first place.

Get her to enjoy how she is moving, eating, and living.

Let us know how it goes,

CB

P.S. When I was a teenager...

I was all about lifting weights to build muscle and get stronger. I used to go to the YMCA up to SIX DAYS per week when I was 17. Learned a few lessons the hard way...

Six days of lifting will irritate your shoulder. Fortunately, I got away without any major damage. I'm still able to lift relatively health. So to be honest, not much has changed. Except that I'm stronger (and smarter!) now...

If you want to gain muscle at home, without hurting yourself, I've put together the perfect 3-day dumbbell muscle building workout.

You'll be done each workout in about 45 minutes. Or less. A few tweaks on the basics, so you'll be loving the variety.

Download the muscle building program here 

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Sign-up for the muscle-building, fat loss TTMembers site here

 

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