Winter Fitness Group - Week 11: Pull-Up

Hope everyone is doing well - this week around we are going to hit some bodyweight exercises again with some old-fashion pull-ups!

The pull-up can be done almost anywhere and inside the Y we have a great pull-up/dip station that has an assist if you need to still build up the strength and power for the movement. 

The following is the schedule for this week to see me and learn about pull-ups:

Tuesday, April 13th: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Thursday, April 15th: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (ask front desk to contact me)

Remember you have to either submit a reply below with the date you want to come in or respond via email at jshapiro@ymcanyc.org. 

Winter Fitness Group Challenge - Week 5: Core Training

I think by now, many of you have established that this program and blog isn't your usual run of the mill fitness blog. I go into deep detail in every decision I make due to the obvious fact that not every person is the same; there is no "cookie-cutter" program out there that will deliver results.

Staying along that same premise, this week is dedicated to core training. I want you to take that idea of what you thought was core training (just doing crunches) and throw it out the window.

My reaction most of the time when people say they know about how to train their core.

I personally wanted everyone to just see and count the amount of musculature that your core actually accounts for. I found this great picture that illustrates just that in a simple point of view.

When you see people doing crunches, they really just target one muscle of the core: the rectus abdominal. Clearly, just by that illustration: that's just not enough.

My philosophy around training the core is revolved around the NASM OPT model and the phases of training: stabilization, endurance, and strength. If you revolve around those three paradigms of training, you can create a core with such dynamic strength that both your upper body and lower body strength and stability will increase by a threefold. Add in that you'll never have a lower back injury in your life again and I think the offer sounds too good to be true.

This Weeks Goal: 

Utilize Your Core Three Times a Week

So this week, I am setting aside the following dates as open one-on-one practice

to get to know a few pull exercises that can benefit you, no matter the goal.

Here are the four days I will make available: 

Tuesday, March 10th: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (at the free weights office)

Thursday, March 11th: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (ask front desk to contact me)

Friday, March 12th: 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Sunday, March 15th: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Remember you have to either submit a reply below with the date you want to come in or respond via email at jshapiro@ymcanyc.org. 

Winter Fitness Group Challenge - Week 4: Pull Exercises

Let's get straight to it: if you think that this week isn't as important as the following past three weeks - you're making a big mistake.

I wish my back was that big.

When I speak about pull exercises, this is not simply "lift things up and put them down," but rather holding your body still while contracting concentrically your back musculature. Let me break it down like this:

1. You have to halves of your body: the left and right (which we can visibly see)
2. You also have a front and back (the front we can almost always see and the back - almost forgotten)

Whether your goal is weight loss or adding lean muscle mass, ignoring your back is a huge mistake. Talk to professional bodybuilders, firefighters, ballerinas, dancers, construction workers, or athletes and they'll all mention how much they train their back. If they don't, they might have a good chance of either lower back pain or rounded shoulders. 

Your back musculature, which includes everything from your hip complex up to your neck is vital to everyday living, great posture, upper body and lower body strength, and overall wellness. The latissimus dorsi, lower trapezius, medial trapezius, upper trapezius, posterior deltoid, rhomboids, and multifidus muscles are all important. Stabilizing the hip complex can even prevent and eliminate lower back pain. The biceps even get involved during pull exercises (let's make a special note that you should not just focus on bicep curls. They do not make your back stronger and only account for 1/3 of your arm size) My little PSA.

This Weeks Goal: 

Utilize Pull Exercises Three Times a Week

So this week, I am setting aside the following dates as open one-on-one practice

to get to know a few pull exercises that can benefit you, no matter the goal.

Here are the five days I will make available: 

Monday, March 2nd: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Tuesday, March 3rd: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (at the free weights office)

Thursday, March  5th: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm (ask front desk to contact me)

Friday, March 6th: 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm (at the free weights office)

Sunday, March 8th: 11:30 pm - 12:00 pm (at the free weights office)

Remember you have to either submit a reply below with the date you want to come in or respond via email at jshapiro@ymcanyc.org.