Weekly RAW: Week 1 of BSD, GF Update, HWR is Still Awesome!

Greetings RAW Warriors,

For the next 4 weeks, I will provide the RABC's Bench-Squat-Deadlift plan, outlined a while back in a special report.

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Week 1, Day 1

Bench Press  3 x 5       
Front Squats  3 x 8        
Pulldowns  3 x 8        
DB Lunges  3 x 8        X
All-Star Sit Ups
& Windmills  20/10 x 2 each exercise,
rest 1 min, then 20/10 x 2 each exercise again


Week 1, Day 2

Squats  3 x 5        
Military Press  3 x 8       
DB Lunges  3 x 8       
Seated or DB  3 x 8       
Rows
Leg Raises &
KB Swings 20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 min,
then 20/10 x 2 each exercise again

Week 1, Day 3

Deadlifts  3 x 5       
Push-Ups  3 x 8        
BW Lunges  3 x 8        
Pull-Ups  3 x 8       
Mountain Climbers &
Total Body Extensions
20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 min,
then do 20/10 x 2 each exercise again

Grab your log sheets here at: http://occupyfirstplace.com/RABCBSD.pdf

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The Gluten-Free mode is working very well, once again I am amazed at how well I feel during my workouts now. No crazy supplements either being used, just a nice, healthy drop in body fat and less bloated feeling overall compared to my wheat-laden dieting ways of the past.

I am now down to 190 and feeling so much better as a result. This has been a great change to take in my diet and I see myself getting closer to my top performing zone of the 'right' bodyweight I have performed best at.

I have also kept up with the Home Workout Revolution plans this week, even mixing in some kettlebell swings to the HWR 20/10 method. The HWR videos have been a great resource for me in my small amounts of time I have to work with in getting some workouts in. 

I will put it to you this way: I have P90X, P90X2, and 10 Minute Trainer DVD's from my days as a Beachbody Coach (seller of BB products).  I haven't touched them once since I got into HWR's videos.

For one, the workouts are so much shorter and to the POINT. Its not drawn out with crazy bodyweight and band exercises with wacky/cool names to make it sound exciting. Nope, HWR takes the everyday, every-man exercises of basic squats, lunges, push-ups, mountain climbers, burpees, etc. You know, the ones everyone says they do, but rarely likes to do them?  Well, HWR takes those types of exercises and gets it right to the point with a systematic approach with an endpoint in sight.

I'm not just saying this because I sell it here, I'm selling it because it works so well and it works better than what I've sold in the past. I've also sold more HWR packages versus my days as a BB Coach trying to sell P90X and other programs.  P90X has its market but its not realistic for a lot of people. HWR breaks down that barrier and brings you the basics in a concise format that isn't confusing.

Plus, with HWR, you have a plethora of videos & guides to download INSTANTLY after you purchase it, versus waiting for pre-packed DVD's and books to come your way. 
From the main 20/10 workout series, to challenge series workouts, 6 minute and 4 minute workout circuits for 'add-on' finishers, there is a plan for just about everyone. And it saves you a lot compared to a P90X or Insanity program. $120 versus HWR's steal price of $67!

Did I mention there are 51 videos in all, plus they are no-equipment workouts?

Still not sure?  What if you could try it out for only $9?  Does P90X let you do that? 
(Ask me how to get this special offer privately, at asaptrainer1@gmail.com !)


See what I've been ranting about wildly right here: http://tinyurl.com/cbhwrevsale

Download the videos tonight after purchase, and maybe even try one out!

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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://tinyurl.com/rkofp

GF and Running, KB Swings are still King on Kindle!

Greetings RAW Warriors,

I have been getting in plenty of snow shoveling interval workouts lately. We have had a spell of snow, blizzard conditions, and cold wind chills to boot. Its a decent workout by itself but its not a really fun one that you schedule out to do! :)

With my gluten-free change in diet lately, I have really noticed a great positive change in my running. My workouts have gone a lot smoother, and I don't feel as bloated as I would sometimes get as I ran. By really reducing wheat foods in my diet, and simply replacing it with corn and rice, I never thought it would be this easy and how I would feel this much better.

Another big change is cutting back on my snacks of chips... I have replaced it with a nut and raisin mix I created out of peanuts, almond slivers and raisins. A small handful of this helps curb the appetite more than a small bowl of chips would do for me. I also have picked up some Quaker Rice Quakes, a light rice cake snack that comes in some different flavors and is a lot healthier than chips are, for sure.

I have also enjoyed the switch to Silk brand soy milk and almond milk, instead of regular dairy. The price is about 2x the price of regular milk, but I still get 2 small serving, 8oz cartons at school during the day. I haven't totally taken it out, but reducing it at home keeps me from taking a lot more.

I am not saying its a great cure all and everyone has to do it, but if you have had problems with digestion of breads and wheat products in the past, it is a change worth informing yourself about and looking into.

The guide that got me to change was The Gluten Free Edge. It may still be pretty inexpensive on Kindle vs its paperback price. Search for it on Amazon and discover it there.

My weight continues to drop and that is another great feeling from all of this coming together. My goal is to get to my prime racing weight of around 175-180, which is the weight I have had some of my best times for 5K and track events. Currently sitting at 192-3 on my scale. I am getting there.

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Last year, I had a nice drop in weight from doing a pretty intensive Swing challenge and I didn't really watch my diet as close as I do now, mostly in portions I was consuming overall. Things like less seconds at the lunch line in school and a bit less food at breakfast too.

My journey last January and February is covered in my best selling Kindle guide, "Just Swing It!".  I haven't been doing the 10K Swings Challenge this January due to some soreness I still had at the beginning of the month from a work injury in December. I recently got back into some swing workouts and feel fine to head back into it. February looks like a good month to try one of my Swing plans in Kettlebell XL, my newest guide that is starting to sell at a rate of one guide to every 6 of JSI. For only a few weeks, I feel its doing good for starters.

Grab a look at these guides if you are looking for a solid plan to follow, and get both for under $4 total!

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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

Weekly RAW: Week 4, Gluten Free Update, More Nonsense From Planet Fitness

Greetings,

Since most of these updates are becoming weekly, I thought I would name it the Weekly Rats Alley Workouts, or Weekly RAW instead of Daily RAW.  I might get into daily workouts again, but its been hard for me to get to into a daily basis.

Here is Week 4: 5*3 for the DL and BP's.

Week 4, Day 1:

Deadlifts: 5*3
Bench Press: 5*3

Pulldowns: 3*8
All Star Sit Ups: 3*5

3MW: 20/10 *2 per exercise
Pushups
Lunges
Burpees

Week 4, Day 2:

Deadlifts: 5*3
Bench Press: 5*3

Bent Over Rows: 3*8
Windmills: 3*5

2MW: 20/10 *2 each exercise
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

Week 4, Day 3:

Deadlifts: 5*3
Bench Press: 5*3

All Star Sit Ups: 4*5

3MW: 30 sec each
Pushups
Crunches
BW Squats
Lunges
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

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Gluten Free Updates:

My gluten free dietary change is working very well, as I am down 6 pounds now since the 1st. Adding more GF food choices and cutting back greatly on wheat products when I can. I will still have breads and such but it is very minimal now.  My running workouts have me feeling greater than before too, feeling less bloated when I run and less bloated throughout the day, too.  What a big difference this has made, and I can't wait to see how well it keeps working. I am finding out just how much whole grain wheat foods affected me before.

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More Reason To Find A Different Planet!

Planet Fitness just keeps after it on ticking off the fitness world with their socialism-in-action choices for their members.  Now the word is that not only are squat racks out, but Benches are too. 

Wow.

The claim is that the Benches are also intimidating. So, bye bye, Benches!

I actually viewed a trainer video that supported these changes, and it didn't surprise me when I saw at the end of the video the message of "Share the Wealth" as a way to spread the word on his videos.  Looked like another socialist trying to make money in a capitalist society again while complaining about capitalism... So ironic!

The trainer gave his support for it because he thinks PF is trying to get rid of the serious gym goers, and cater their business to the once a weekers and once a monthers. Why do this? Because if you have only sporadic visits from the core of your members, then you have less people using equipment, less cleaning and maintenance of equipment, and the once a while'ers won't feel "intimidated" by the serious people if they are gone!

Wow... This is ridiculous on many levels!  The so called "Judgment Free Zone" is trying to cast judgment upon their most dedicated members by taking away their most widely used equipment!  This is just amazing, I never thought I would see a fitness franchise do such a thing, basically taking away fitness equipment to chase away serious members.  It is just one big joke! And just how, HOW do you gain boosts in fitness by only working out once a week????? Really, Planet Fitness?

Maybe there is a small sliver of the population that would love these changes. My feeling is that if you are THAT intimidated by a gym, work out at home then! The amount of ways to workout at home is endless, so go that route. This is not a way to run a fitness business. I really don't see this franchise surviving. This model of business is flawed from my point of view.

I don't know why I am getting so fired up over this, but perhaps its the taking away of things that bothers me the most. When you take away from people who use and enjoy something that makes their fitness goals happen, that is what really makes me mad.  No gym should take out something to force away their own members, especially when the gym claims to be Judgment Free and casts judgment upon its own members!

Rant over.  Return to your regularly scheduled workouts.

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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

Daily RAW: HWR and Swings, baby!

Greetings RAW Warriors,

The workouts this week have been mostly running on Sunday outside ( an odd 41 degrees up here in January!), plus a Swings workout on Monday and an HWR 12 minute routine with one kettlebell.

The swings workout was done in a style of 100 every 4 minutes, for a workout done under 20 with 500 swings total. I used the 40# bell and easily got right back in the groove of the swing movement.

Today's routine was a 12 minute Home Workout Revolution routine, done in 4 minute Tabata phases of Swings to start with, then 4 minutes of one arm Cleans and 4 minutes of one arm Jerks. It is a short and sweet workout that had me doing 96 swings, 80 cleans, and 48 jerks in that time. Pretty good in volume if you ask me in that time frame.

Check out the latest in Swing workouts with KBXL and Just Swing It! Right here

If the thought of 20 minutes or less workouts is a solution for you, then Craig Ballantyne and his HWR workouts are definitely for you. They have been a great staple for me over the past year.

If you are off the resolution bandwagon, get back on and reset with these workouts as a part of your new strategy!

Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

RABC Week 3, Rant: Find a different Planet?

Greetings RAW Warriors,

It has been a long time with some posts here. I will start with Week 3 of the RABC Plan, and end with other news and tidbits.

Week 3: 10/8/6/4 rep pattern used on DL and BP

Day 1:

Deadlifts
Bench Press

Pulldowns: 4*8
All Star Sit Ups: 4*5 each side

3MW: 30 seconds each
Pushups
Squats
Jumping Jacks
Mountain Climbers
Lunges
Total Body Extensions

Day 2:

Deadlifts
Bench Press

Bent Over Rows: 4*8
Windmills: 4*5 per side

2MW: 1 minute each
Jumping Jacks
Total Body Extensions

Day 3:

Deadlifts
Bench Press

Low Pulley Rows: 3*8
All Star Sit Ups: 3*5

3MW: 20/10 work/rest pattern
Pushups
Crunches
Squats
Lunges
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

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Ranting:
Lately I have seen that Planet Fitness, a major chain in our country, is taking out squat racks due to members being intimidated by them.  I first saw that PF banned deadlifts awhile ago, and thought that was rather absurd. Taking out a squat rack takes the cake for me... This is a limitation on personal choice and freedom for your own fitness objectives. If you were a trainer here, it would be pretty hard to put someone through a squat protocol to help improve maximum strength with no squat racks around. If you trained by yourself and found a squat and bench program, it would be difficult to do squats after they took out the racks.

What I find amazing is that PF isn't denying this happening, like its all a made up story. They pride themselves on limiting options for their members for some reason, pride themselves on free pizza and bagel days for their clients, and members just put up with it. Why? If your memberships were only $10/month and they gave you free pizza, would you say anything?

I would question the free pizza and bagels, and question why my exercise choices are being limited.... That is me.

This makes no sense: why limit a person's choices when it comes to exercise? I suppose there will always be a niche section of America that wants their hand held, wants a cheap membership, even if your options are limited, and they give you free pizza as a reward for your submission to their rules.

Wake up, people. This is a social experiment going terribly wrong. 

It reminds me of when I worked at a brand new gym and dealt with a lot of ladies who gave up on Curves and switched to our gym... They wanted more options, more direction, and better results.

I believe a lot of people will see through this garbage from PF and quit those gyms, seeking out better opportunities they desire.

People get tired of being nudged and limited, they will seek the better option that has more freedom in the end.

I don't see this business lasting much longer if they keep limiting options because someone feels intimidated. Intimidation can drive you in order to overcome an obstacle. Intimidation is not a BAD thing, it can be a motivator.

Let it fuel you, not limit you.

Rant over.
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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

Daily RAW: Week 2, Free JTW Guide!

Greetings RAW Warriors,

Here is Week #2 for the RABC Way, 3 workouts for next week to do.

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Week #2, Day 1

Deadlifts - 4x5
Bench Press - 4x5

Pulldowns - 4x8
Windmills - 4x5 per side

3MW: 20/10 x 2 each exercise
BW Squats
Lunges
Total Body Extensions
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Week 2, Day 2

Deadlifts - 4x5
Bench Press - 4x5

Bent Over Rows - 4x8
All Star Sit Ups - 4x5 each side

3MW- 20/10 x 2 each exercise
Spiderman Pushups
Lunges
Jumping Jacks

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Week 2, Day 3

Deadlifts - 4x5
Bench Press - 4x5

Pulldowns - 4x8
All Star Sit Ups - 3x5

3MW: 20/10 x 2 each exercise
Pushups
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

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As a way to celebrate the NDSU Bison football team's 3rd straight National Championship, I am offering Just The Workouts for Free, today and Monday!  Years ago, the Bison won some National titles at the Division II level and their program made their way into our gym as a kid in my school. This program basically showed up in every gym throughout my college and training career... I dubbed it "The Program That Never Left The Weight Room", as the chart and outline it offered was what a lot of athletes and gym goers followed. The old 'find your max & do your sets and reps' chart, tucked by the benches or squat racks is what this guide covers. The RABC plans are based off this guide.

Grab a copy Here for your Kindle! If you want the chart to go with this as another handy resource, grab Just The Chart from here:

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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

Daily RAW: Running again & Gluten-free (at least less) stuff

Greetings RAW Warriors,

This week was a good start to getting back on a solid running schedule, I was able to get in 3 workouts and might get another one in on Sunday if the body is up to it.

My running workouts are basically limited to the hallways at school, as I could go run on some treadmills but I prefer on-the-ground running over that. The hallway route I take is an out & back one, of 150m down, 150m back as an approximate measurement.  Time wise, its about right with my running speed.  I get 300m done in about 1:15-1:10 or under that if I do just one interval at a time.

My goals this week were to get 3 workouts in, and do 3000m to 3300m worth of intervals. Monday was basically 1, 300m interval every 2 minutes on the clock, getting 10 of them done in 20 minutes time that way.

Wednesday was a bit different: 1 rep, 2 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps, then 2 reps to finish.  For each rep, it was done in 2 minutes of time. 2 reps would get done in about 2:30-35, then I'd rest until 4 minutes was up. 3 was completed and recovery time total in 6 minutes, then I'd do the next series.

Today's routine was 1, 2, 3, and finally 4, with a bonus one of 1 rep done at 18:40 to see if I could finish the workout under 20:00 when that came up.

Overall, its good to get back into the running mode and get focused after the crazy hustle & bustle of the holidays. I just started coaching my JH Boys basketball crew and that helps me get back into a groove this time of year as well. 

Whatever it takes to get you back into a groove, use it to your advantage. 

Programs to follow are a great way to do this:  "Just Swing It!" is doing that for some people this week, as well as the 5,000 Swings Program I have posted on here via occupyfirstplace.com.  The free one is a hit at the 10K Swings Challenge page on Facebook.

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Gluten-free (or less of it, basically)?

Before Christmas, I got a book called the Gluten-Free Edge, geared towards athletes and a lot focused on endurance athletes who have had issues with gluten intolerance and more severely, celiac disease from its intake. 

I read a lot of it in bits & pieces before New Year's Day, and the athlete stories in there were very similar to some experiences I've had, especially after eating foods with high gluten content, such as wheat foods.  I'm a fan of Wheat Thins, bran flakes, Wheaties, shredded wheat, etc. 

It's no wonder I was having issues with it, such as feeling bloated a lot after eating a meal. In simple terms, this past week I have reduced what I can, when I can, of wheat intake as my main focus.  I replaced my wheat cereals with rice-based ones and corn-based ones, and also switched to soy milk.  Its been a great difference in how I feel & move when exercising.

It's not a magical change overnight, but in the course of trying this since last Sunday for a good week now, I noticed a 2 pound drop in weight.

3 runs, 2 HWR workouts, and a diet change of this nature have certainly contributed to this positive weight loss and boost in feeling better after eating meals. I'm obviously going to stick with this because it was such an easy change to make (easier than I thought it would be) and it makes me more aware now of what to eat overall. 

I don't get anything for promoting this book, but for $2.99 versus the hardcover price, its worth looking into to read more about this issue and how it may be affecting your performance. 

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Edge-Nutrition-Training-Performance-ebook/dp/B007JN6ZIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388874550&sr=8-1&keywords=gluten+free+edge

I always hate feeling 'bloaty' while on a run and its very difficult to deal with such discomfort every time you workout.  If you have such feelings during intense exercise, it could be caused by your diet intake and gluten may be a factor.  This book was eye-opening to me on this issue and it has certainly made a positive change in such a short amount of time. You get real-world stories from top-level athletes (especially triathletes in this book) who all experience the effects of gluten and have changed their diets for the better. 

If you have a Kindle, its a must-read if you're a committed athlete.

Maybe eating your Wheaties every morning isn't such a good idea for some people?

It won't be for me any more unless its my only option.

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Week #2's workouts will come tomorrow for the RABC way... so stay tuned.

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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://tinyurl.com/rkofp

Daily RAW: HWR and Running

Greetings RAW Warriors,

My workouts as of this week have been a combo of running intervals and some HWR routines. Monday and Wednesday were 3000m days of intervals in the school hallways. I did 3000m total each day of varying intervals of 300 to 900m at once.
The HWR workouts were done on Tuesday and today, a 15 minute one on Tuesday and 12 minute one today. I tried some swings on Wednesday but my chest was too sore to finish a workout, I am still trying to get my work injury back to a normal feeling.

If you are looking for a 2014 Challenge, take the lead like others have and start one up with kettlebells. Give it a look with my Kindle guides right here. After one day alone, I have sold 10% of December's total number of guides. People love a challenge to help them stay motivated for their New Year's Resolutions. Just Swing It! & Kettlebell XL are leading the way for kettlebell challenge workouts. At 99¢ to $2.99 they are a very affordable program to purchase.

Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak