Fettered to the surface of planet Earth we must use gravity to our advantage!

Like a dog on a leash, Edmund Dauntes to Château d'If or a boat to a dock we are fettered to this land by the chains of gravity. We have sought, fought and succeeded at untethering ourselves from the invisible imprisonment that holds us here. However we must always come back down :)

What goes up MUST come down.

Knowing this can frustrate many. Let not your heart be troubled though my friends for there is always a solution and simple optimism can fix a saddened soul (Jesus the cornieness is overwhelming lol). Instead of  allowing the force of gravity to bog you down use it's own force to strengthen yourself! Being healthy and fit requires more than purchasing a conveinient take home dvd and bouncing around your living room (although its a fantastic start), buying a bottle of fat burners or buying the "salad" at McDonald's. Being healthy and fit requires an entire lifestyle change. You must evaluate your entire life: Daily routine, routines of family members/loved ones, DIET, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and your goals in and out of the gym. If you seriously want results you must approach the process of accomplishing the intended outcome seriously. You wouldn't gaff off a project at work would you? Because you know an unsatisfactory outcome may result in your termination right?

Well an unsatisfactory lifestyle in regards to diet and exercise may result in your termination........

So the question is why not take it seriously?

Ok so you want to take it seriously? Well here in this post I have some older videos of some exercises that will surely lead to your success. Do these at your own risk. They are not for fat bodies. They are not for the average.

I give you:  Man Ups

Begin by grasping an overhead pull-up bar with a grip at the bend in the bar and hang. Then, while ensuring your core is engaged, legs together and toes pointed down raise your legs as one unit up and towards the chest. You should see your ankles at about your face level. Then in one smooth motion push your toes towards the heavens upward until your abdomen is about at the same level as your hand grip. Once at the top "Fan" your legs downward slowly to the start position. Congratulations you just completed one repetition of a Man Up!

Here my brother Marco Buehler demonstrates: 

If the Man Up is too much for you then there is a simple solution to engage your core and strengthen it to the point where a Man Up can be done easily.

Dragon Abs

Begin by lying on your back on a flat bench with your shoulders positioned at about the 3/4 mark. Grasp the bench to allow you better leverage. You'll see why. Legs together, toes pointed out, core engaged. Now raise your entire body as one to the point where your legs are completely vertical and your upper torso is literally forming the supporting base. Then, slowly "Fan" your body/legs downward to the start position THEN "Fan" back up to the vertical position. You should be able to do 5 slow and controlled repetitions of these before you attempt a Man Up.

Here my Bro Marco Buehler will demonstrate a few reps of Dragon Abs:

The Standing Dumbbell EZ-Bar Curl in two variations. (Close grip and Wide grip):

Stand with feet about shoulder width apart. Whenever you execute a biceps curl you MUST ensure your elbows remain at your side and do not move forward or backward. This will guarantee that the majority of the force generation and contraction occurs in your biceps. Not the the Deltoid (Shoulder). With elbows in tight raise the weight keeping your wrists straight to almost if not to chest level. Keep your core tight and lower the weight back down to the starting position making sure your entire movement is slow and controlled.Your grip wont matter save for personal preference. Changing the grip will not affect muscle recruitment on the two heads of the biceps because of the "All or none" principle.

Here in both videos I will demonstrate the two grips:

Stay Fit!

Warm-Up/Stretch and Brushing your teeth. Two things that should be done daily.

When we were children, just the simple prospect of running bristles over our teeth before and after bed was too much. Some probably found it fun others just another chore. Only until the importance of cleaning our teeth became sense to us were we able to force ourselves into a healthy habit of proper dental hygiene. Why should it stop there? While Iam well aware that there are among us adults whom still need to acquire this simple habit they are the exception and are to be ignored HaH.

Each and every day we find ourselves attempting to create habits good and bad consciously and without even knowing it (use of substances etc). I can completely understand why most of us choose to overlook and even neglect the entire philosophy of doing a warm-up then stretch routine. Most of us are just plain BUSY!  My hope is that through education even the novice/average fitness enthusiast sees the importance of such a routine and implements it regularly. Prevention of injury? Increased ROM (Range of Motion) which leads to more uniform muscle recruitment during contraction? Increased blood flow to the target muscle group? Your body's overall increased efficiency? What's not to like? No no I see it's "just another" task to perform in the gym and sheesh it takes like 30 minutes to do? A basic stretching routine and warm-up can easily be accomplished in less than 30 minutes time. Stretching is very important and doing a warm-up BEFORE you stretch allows blood to flow to the muscle groups you intend to stretch. Warming up allows your body temperature to increase slightly which helps loosen muscles and make them more pliable for stretching.

You see we must break away from the typical "going through the motions" attitude towards the gym. Are you there for serious results? Are your motives other than to meet a fitness and health related goal? If you're not serious about your health, goals and a greater sense of well-being then stop reading this blog.

A typical workout should be broken down into a 4 stage (sometimes 5) experience.

1) Warm-Up: To include some form of cardiovascular stimulation to roughly 60-80% Max heart rate until a light sweat breaks out or you have burned 90-175 calories. The warm-up should incorporate the day's target muscle groups for added benefit. (e.g. Doing stationary bicycle on a squat day). Also for weight resistance, the warm-up can include light weight in reps of about 150% of the scheduled workout reps (i.e. Lighter weight more reps).

2) Stretch: While I always try to stretch my entire body, a basic stretching routine should at least include the target muscle group of the day. Focus on relaxed, controlled breathing. You want to stretch and HOLD. Don't bounce your stretch. Pain is not good if you feel any sensation of pain back off and hold then slowly advance the stretch. 15-30 seconds should suffice. However, I always aim for 30 second holds. Slowly release and move back to the starting position.

3) Workout: Your planned workout for the day duh! Stay hydrated and follow your plan. Stay focused on executing proper breathing techniques.

4) Stretch (again optional): Follow same principles of your pre-workout stretching routine.

5) Cool-Down (optional and should be done before Post workout stretch): Depending on your workout for the day a Cool-Down may benefit by allowing the muscles to recover from the workout and slowly return to normal working order.

Even if you just implemented a couple of stretches into your routine regularly you would see the benefits. I would suggest starting off with a couple of stretches a day until it becomes more of a habit and you are more comfortable with the process and your flexibility improves! You can also look into taking a few Yoga or Pilates classes at your local gym/health club. These practices will teach you good stretching techniques and may help the stubborn gym rat establish good stretching habits.

So remember brushing regularly helps keep the cavities away and warming up and stretching helps keep injuries at bay!

Stay Fit!

RADFitness has decsended upon Twitter and YouTube!

RADFitness has expanded our social media reach to Twitter and YouTube in an effort to increase the size of our audience and maximize our viewing potential. By tapping into various portals of communication we only benefit from the imminent growth as a result. So if you tweet or tube, do us a favor and...

...follow us on Twitter @RADFitness and YouTube radfitnessblog!

Stay Fit!

ACSM CPT exam, there's a bounty on your head that I intend to claim.

I firmly believe that anytime a person is faced with a situation that sparks the beginning of the rest of their life nothing can effect their trek towards absolute success. I find my ship soaring through the wind across vast oceans at the very whims of Mother Nature herself. In this thought I have comfort for I know I will go where my heart leads me, my brain sees me and my soul redeems me. As a member of that very nature I embark on a fast, chaotic study schedule to eventually take and pass the ACSM CPT Exam.

I will keep you as up to date as possible concerning the progress of the Certification process.

Stay Fit!