Thursday, February 27, 2014

Daily RAW: RABC Week 1, Day 2

It has been too long and I may have to go back to weekly posts again. Didn't quite get to my semi daily postings like I thought I would.

Here is Day 2 of Week 1:

Bench Press: 3x5
Deadlifts: 3x5

Pulldowns: 3x8
All Star Sit Ups: 3x5 per side

3 Minute Warning: 20/10 x 2 per exercise
Pushups
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

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Track Update:  we've had 4 days of indoor practices, first day was testing on a few sprint, vertical jump, and strength tests. 2nd day was a team circuit of a lot of jump rope and bodyweight intervals. Yesterday and today were more separated into sprints/jumps/throws and distance, with our distance crews doing a lot of down and back running in the halls. We did a lot of swings between reps of hallways today. 160 of them, in fact.

We are taking Friday off due to transporting issues and the district tourney for girls basketball. Might just do my own running at the gym and do some speed intervals.

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This weekend I will post Week 2 workouts and give you some more stuff, maybe even a rant for a good change of pace again.
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Lift. Dominate. Repeat.
Rats Alley Barbell Club
Coach Rick Karboviak

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Weekly RAW: Gluten-Free Update - 8 Week Progress, Week 1 of RABC Classic

Greetings RAW Warriors,

It has now been 8 weeks of going more Gluten-Free in my diet. I haven't totally been able to eliminate it, but have greatly reduced it.  I eat two meals a day at the school with my job (breakfast and lunch) and some days I just have to eat something with gluten, but I try to put a limit on it.  Some ways I've done this are:

Instead of raisin bran, a main course and two slices of toast, I just take the main course, try a rice or corn based cereal (usually corn flakes or crispy rice) and no more toast.

For main lunch meals, if its a sandwich I will just have one sandwich, and watch more bread intake overall if there are other choices wheat-related. I also have a salad each day and ceased on some dairy based or pasta based salad choices.  Even on days when pasta is a main choice, I will keep it limited.

I try to eat very little pasta now, since I now have put the two together and noticed how horribly bloated I used to feel after pasta meals. I used to eat a lot, thinking it was a great carb choice as an athlete. Now, that's gotta change for something better.

No more wheat based cereals either, its all basically rice krispies or corn flakes, or rice/corn Chex cereal too.

I can certainly feel a difference by cutting back on wheat/pasta overall and replacing it with rice/corn stuff.

Overall with these dietary changes and exercise plans I have been doing, its been a nice 14 pound weight loss and 3% drop in body fat.  I was 202 and 17%, now down to 188 and a hair under 14%.

When I run now, it is feeling so much better when I run.  No more bloaty feelings or discomfort in my gut any more.  I just ran on the treadmill for this workout on Friday, and it felt really, really great:

1/2 mile in 4:00
1/2 mile at 6:40/mile pace
1/4 mile at 8:00/mile pace
1/4 mile at 6:40/mile pace
1/4 mile at 8:00/mile pace
1/4 mile at 6:40/mile pace
1/2 mile at 8:00/mile pace
1/2 mile at 6:40/mile pace

This was 1.5 miles of 5K pace for me, and 1.5 miles of easier pace running as warm-up and recovery periods between the 5K pace periods.

This took me approximately 21:30 to get 3 miles in. Granted it was on a treadmill, not quite the same as a 65 degree day with a calm wind, but its a good measurement to see how I could handle summer 5K paces with recoveries.

Overall, this was a change for the better and a change for permanent sake of feeling better.

I can't wait to see what a season worth of running with the track kids as their coach will bring.

For the book that started it all for me in opening my eyes to gluten sensitivity and the changes I needed to make, check out the Gluten-Free Edge. Its under $10 on Amazon Kindle's store. I was lucky enough to get mine on a great sale for only $2.64 way back when, but even $10 could help you discover more about this dietary change.  It is not a 'fad diet', its a very real thing.  My cousin just recently was diagnosed with an extreme case of gluten sensitivity before any more damage could arise.  I get nothing for recommending this book, but I feel its important enough to share with people who may have the same experiences I used to have with gluten foods:

http://amzn.com/B007JN6ZIW

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Week 1 of RABC is what we'll start with for next week.

I will try to keep it more semi-daily now, and post every other day and with some track workout updates for something fresh to view.

Week 1: Day 1 - Ideally for Monday

Deadlifts: 3 x 5
Bench Press: 3 x 5

Pulldowns: 3 x 8
Windmills: 3 x 5 per side

3 Minute Warning:
20/10 x 2 each exercise

Pushups
Mountain Climbers
Total Body Extensions

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Don't forget about trying a kettlebell challenge, or giving some good old Track workouts a try.  Two key guides of mine could help you with both:

Just Swing It! and Just The Track Workouts are key tools for discovering the benefits of kettlebells and good old awesome Track routines.  Check them out at http://tinyurl.com/rkofp

Don't forget to check out the RABC Manual and Just The Workouts for more insight on the basic RABC plans here, too.

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

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Weekly RAW: Week 4 of BSD, HWR still better than...

Greetings, RAW Warriors,

Here is Week 4 of BSD, its 5x3 for the main lifts, 3x6 for others.

Week 4, Day 1 - Bench Press

Bench Press: 5x3
Front Squats: 3x6
Pulldowns: 3x6
DB Lunges: 3x6
ASSU's and Windmills: 20/10 x2 each exercise, rest 1 min, then 20/10 x2 once again.

Week 4, Day 2 - Squats

Squats: 5x3
Military Press: 3x6
DB Lunges: 3x6
DB Rows: 3x6
Leg Raises and KB Swings: 20/10*2 each, rest 1 min, 20/10*2 each

Week 4, Day 3: Deadlifts

Deadlifts: 5x3
Push Ups: 3x6
BW Lunges: 3x6
Pull Ups: 3x6
Total Body Extensions & Mountain Climbers: 20/10*2 each, rest 1 min, 20/10*2 each

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HWR Is Still Better Than...

The BB season is winding down for me, and Track is around the corner in just Nine Days!  My runs have been few and far between but the HWR workouts are going great in place of them on days where I don't have the ample time to run. I have been doing KB Swing workouts with the HWR method, getting 100 swings every 4 minute, 20/10 style workout period. In a 12 minute workout, its 300 swings down. I have had a lot of back to back games where there isn't a lot of free time for a workout during the small break I had between work and leaving for the games. The HWR ones fit perfectly into the mix. I have gotten more out of this investment than I ever did from P90X or Insanity. I have done both of those programs and HWR is so much better, as far as versatility and function goes.

My reasons why HWR is better than P90X & Insanity: (And yes, I used to sell Beachbody products and have given them a full scouring in the past, I had okay results with P90X and did not care for Insanity, or Shaun T for that matter. Dance instructors should not claim to be athlete workout guru's, in my quick and honest opinion.)

1. Workouts are shorter! Yes, its true, the workouts are a lot shorter in comparison to P90X and Insanity workouts. The shortest full body ones are only 10 minutes (even Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer series is about 14-15 minutes per workout... Its just 10 full minutes of 10, one minute exercises in TMT). Most range in the 12-15 minute range, others closer to 20. Plus you could do 4-6 minute circuits of ab/core workouts as add on's to your routine.

2. More workouts overall: 50+ workouts to choose from! You get about a dozen workouts from the other guys, and that's for about $120 too, roughly $10 a workout. Not a great deal in my opinion, when 50+ workouts are just $67 and you get to start downloading videos ASAP. No shipping, just straight downloads to your computer. Why pay additional shipping when you get instant access with HWR!

3. You aren't going to be barraged with harassing messages to 'join a unique business opportunity' all the time. This bugged me so much when I was a 'Coach' with Beachbody, and I know it annoyed others. Many people sell P90X type programs from Beachbody and do okay, while others struggle to sell such high priced programs. And frankly, others get really ticked when you keep selling the same message of 'if you become a Coach, you get it for less!' all the time. With HWR, I am a straight, lone affiliate of the program. I don't sell any sort of business opp to get you the program for less than it is. I am not on some 'Team' or have people 'under me'. As an affiliate, Craig Ballantyne gets his cut, I get mine. You get some great workouts. Its pretty simple and uncomplicated. You could become an affiliate of Craig's programs and even sell it yourself, like I do. In fact, for each package I sell of HWR, I make more than I would have with selling a P90X package with Beachbody. I will be making a guide on this soon for Kindle. Stay tuned!

4. No crazy equipment needed, or crazy named exercises! Squat, lunge, push, pull, bend, twist...HWR gives you simple, basic workouts out of simple, basic exercises like pushups, bodyweight squats, lunges, mountain climbers, and more. I always hated the goofy names on some of the DVDs from BB. Plus some exercises just put your body in weird contortions. HWR just has a way of turning simple stuff into golden workouts. If you desire, some exercises could use dumbbells or exercise bands as they mention. I even use KB swings in place of bodyweight squats now and then. CB really hit a homer with this series and its simplicity.

Those are my Top 4 Reasons why HWR is better overall.  See what its all about right here:

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

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Weekly RAW: Week 3 of BSD & More

Greetings RAW Warriors,

Here is Week 3 of the RABC - Bench, Squat, Deadlift Plan.

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Week 3, Day 1: Bench Press

Bench Press  4 x 10-8-6-4        
Front Squats  3 x 12       
Pulldowns  3 x 12        
DB Lunges  3 x 12       
All-Star Sit Ups        
& Windmills   20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

Week 3, Day 2: Squats

Squats  4 x 10-8-6-4        
Military Press  3 x 12      
DB Lunges  3 x 12        
Seated or DB  3 x 12       
Rows
Leg Raises & KB Swings: 20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

Week 3, Day 3: Deadlift

Deadlifts  4 x 10-8-6-4        
Push-Ups  3 x 12        
BW Lunges  3 x 12        
Pull-Ups  3 x 12 
Mountain Climbers & Total Body Extensions: 20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

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It has been a pretty wild week: I had games to coach on Monday & Thursday, plus practiced with the kids on Wednesday & Friday for my workout time. 

I also was asked to direct a local 5K and am in the process of planning out a couple other races and even creating a racing challenge series.

In the midst, I did some swings and running on Super Bowl Sunday, two HWR workouts on Monday & Thursday, plus a run on Tuesday night, as well as the scrimmage time with the boys I coach, which was a pretty good little bout of exercise.

HWR is still a great option to look at for home workout routines because of their 20 minutes or less nature.  Plus, where else can you get over 50 videos to instantly download, and create your own workout DVD's from those videos?  I have 9 HWR 20-10 workouts downloaded and put on one DVD, plus 2 other DVD's of 6 minute circuits and 4 minute circuits I created.  You can't get that with P90X or Insanity video packages, and its about half the price of just one of those at $67.

Check it out here!

Just Swing It! is still selling strong from my OFP lineup of Kindle guides.  KBXL is also doing well right off the bat, too.  Check out these two unique kettlebell challenge guides here:

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

Monday, February 3, 2014

Weekly RAW: BSD Week 2, GF Update

Greetings RAW Warriors,

This week, its Week 2 of the BSD Plan.

Main Lifts are 4x5, others are 3 x 10.


Week 2, Day 1: Bench Press

Bench Press  4 x 5        
Front Squats  3 x 10       
Pulldowns  3 x 10        
DB Lunges  3 x 10       
All-Star Sit Ups        
& Windmills   20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

Week 2, Day 2: Squats

Squats  4 x 5        
Military Press  3 x 10       
DB Lunges  3 x 10        
Seated or DB  3 x 10       
Rows
Leg Raises & KB Swings: 20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

Week 3, Day 3: Deadlift

Deadlifts  4 x 5        
Push-Ups  3 x 10        
BW Lunges  3 x 10        
Pull-Ups  3 x 10 
Mountain Climbers & Total Body Extensions: 20/10 x 2 each exercise, rest 1 minute, then repeat

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Gluten-Free Update: 

I am still giving the gluten-free dieting a go.  Saturday & Sunday had a bit more wheat/breads than I wanted, and it was back to feeling uneasy.  Bodyweight is down 10 pounds overall and bodyfat % is 14.5% at my last measurement.

Things are moving forward in a good direction, just need to watch the bread intake more.

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January was a great month for all-things kettlebell from my OFP guides, as Just Swing It! and Kettlebell XL had some good sales numbers. 

If you missed out on the January 10,000 Swings Challenge, you have another 11 months to try it out. See the guides at http://tinyurl.com/rkofp

I also had some great running workouts of the interval style.  A sample of what I did last night was:
300m
600m
900m
1200m
Then, 12, 150m sprints at the top of each minute. It was hard, but great!

Its hard to be inventive in a down & back hallway, but it works for me, and the intervals have helped out a lot in shedding the weight. 

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