Evolve: Perfect Squatting

It is true... we were born to squat well! My nephew started playing in the tan-bark and as he reached for the small pieces of bark, without any instruction, he practiced perfect squatting. Perfect squatting is innate! The following is observed:

Stance: 

• Feet about shoulder with apart
• Toes slightly turned out

Decent to the bottom of the squat:

• Straight back and big chest

Bottom of the squat:

• Straight back/Big chest through entire movement
• Knees slightly behind toes
• Slight forward angle of the shin
• Feet planted firmly on the ground

Rise of the squat to stand:

• Push the floor away with your feet and extend hips to neutral stance

Happy squatting!

PS. I apologize for the vertical video! 

Evolve: Hawaii Workout #2

WOD #2

It must be the swimming and warm weather, but I was sore for a couple days proceeding Sunday's workout... Ha!

Set your timer for 10 minutes and perform as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of the following:

• Mountain Climbers x10 reps
• 1 min. of forward and backward shuttle run (approx. 20 yards)
• Medicine ball chops x 5 each side

Repeat!

Explanations of movements:

1. Mountain Climber: Start in the push-up position, drive your right knee up to your belly button. Keep your toes pointing forward. Drive your right leg back to plank, simultaneously driving your left knee up to your belly button. Repeat!
2. Medicine Ball Chop: Pick up the medicine ball. Position your feet so they are slighting outside your shoulders and your toes angled outwards. Bend your knees slightly. With the ball at hip level and arms slightly bent, rotate your torso to the right. As you do this, pivot on your toes so that they stay in line with the medicine ball. Move the ball diagonally across your body above your opposite shoulder. Repeat!
3. Forward shuttle: Run forwards leading with your hips
4. Backward shuttle: Run backwards, staying light on your toes. 

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Evolve: Damn, that's good chicken!

A seasoning blend my family is in love with is called Bill Barron's Savory Secrets: Tequila Lime. It combines REAL tequilia and other south of the border seasonings that pair well with chicken, fish, vegetables, or steak. Sunday, for lunch, I made some quick grilled chicken salads with the seasoning blend. It was so good, I sprinkled it all over the fish I made for dinner.

Damn, that's good chicken! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken (white or dark), sliced thin (1/2" thick)
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Avocado
• Bill Barron's Savory Secrets: Tequila Lime
• Ranch or Caesar salad dressing 

Directions:

1. Heat grill to medium.
2. Sprinkle seasoning onto chicken. 
3. Grill until chicken is good through, but still juicy. Let stand 5 min. before cutting
4. Prep salad and toss greens in dressing before transferring to serving dish. 
5. Top salad with the sliced chicken, enjoy! 

Evolve: Hawaii Workout #1

It is my desire, while on my vacation, to post some fun meals and workouts inspired by the island of Maui! Here it goes...

WOD #1

Set your timer for 10 minutes and perform as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of the following:

• Right arm dumbbell clean and jerk
• Left arm dumbbell clean and jerk
• 5 dumbbell swings
• 10 sit-ups

Repeat!

Explanations of movements:

1. Dumbbell Clean and Jerk: Start with your feet outside your shoulders, feet slightly turned out. Position the dumbbell directly underneath your chin on the ground. Begin by hinging over at the hips with a straight back. Pick the dumbbell up to hip level using your legs. Shrug your shoulder and give the dumbbell a "high-pull" and scoop your elbow forward so that it moves from the high pull position to the "catch" (elbow should be right under your shoulder, now). Then, "dip/drive" by slightly bending your legs and quickly extending them, simultaneously extending your arm straight overhead. To bring it back to the ground simply do the opposite. 
2. Dumbbell Swings: Start with your feet outside your shoulders, feet slightly turned out. Position the dumbbell directly underneath your chin on the ground. Begin by hinging over at the hips with a straight back. Pick the head of the dumbbell up with both hands. Pull back on the dumbbell to push it through your legs-legs should be slightly bent/back straight (like hiking a football). As the dumbbell comes forward, aggressively open your hips and lock out your legs. The dumbbell should swing forwards (arms straight). When arms are straight the dumbbell should be parallel with the ground. 
3. Sit-Up: Lay on the ground with your feet in the "Butterfly" position. Using your arms, sit up with a straight back. 

Evolve: Omelet Bar

Delicious! 

This morning my roommate and I decided to make an omelet bar to celebrate Sunday. Omelet's are a cheap and tasty way to use your left over veggies and protein. Our omelet bar consisted of the following:

• Eggs
• Onion
• Mushrooms
• Red bell pepper
• Tomatoes
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Avocado
• Fresh Basil

To make these delicious creations, you will need a non-stick skillet, spatula, and olive oil:

1. Turn your stove onto medium heat. Coat your skillet with oil. Once hot, add onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Sauté lightly for about 2-3 minutes. 

2. Add egg. Let the egg cook until the top is no longer liquid.

3. Use the spatula to loosen the egg from the pan and flip the egg over. 

4. Add cheese and avocado and cook for about 1 more minute. 

5. To close the omelet, tilt the pan over the serving plate. Let half of the omelet slid out onto the plate and then fold the other half of the omelet on top. 

6. Top with tomatoes and fresh basil.

Other great toppers include: Salsas, pesto sauce, hot sauce, cheese sauce and.or tomato sauce.

Evolve: Preventing Booty Lock in the Gridlock

Lisa and I just returned from the bay area. In the course of three days, we had driven a total of 15 hours round trip. As we are driving, I am telling Lisa, " Booty Lock!" This translates to we need to stop and stretch.  Needless to say our lower extremities were talking to us and feeling tight and fatigued. This story is similar to those that our clients tell us after returning from their long trips, "my back flared up", "my hip is sore", "my knees are stiff" ... One method that Lisa and I take very seriously when on long road trips is called "Take 10". Every two hours of sitting, spend 10 minutes doing dynamic stretching. Below we have put together a series of major movements to keep you not only energized on your trip, but pain free during and after your journey. Enjoy!

Take 10

Twisting Pin Wheels

This dynamic movement is perfect for loosening up your back, hamstrings, and shoulders. Lisa starts with her body vertical, arms bent, and legs apart. She performs a small torso twist and then reaches with her left arm to her right foot. Next, she returns to the vertical position, repeats the slight torso twist and then with the right arm reaches down to her left foot. Repeat 10 times. 

World's Greatest and Reach

This movement stretches the hamstrings, calves, glutes, and quads. Erin starts with her torso vertical and takes a big lunge step forward with her right leg. The back foot comes up on the toes, but she keeps the back leg extended straight, so that her glutes are still activated. With Erin's variation, pulling her arms up by her ears, she is able to add a stretch to her upper back and shoulders. Hold for 10-20 seconds. Then drop the right arm down to the side and slightly lean toward the right with the body to get a nice side stretch. Hold for 10 seconds. Stand up straight and repeat the movements starting with a big lunge step with the other leg (left leg). 

           Hamstring             Shoulder Bridge                  Squat

Next, it's time to move to isolate the hamstrings. Lisa places her heel up onto a surface with her leg straight out in front, no higher than her hip, and proceeds to reach forward toward her foot. Keeping your back straighter will allow you to feel the stretch even more in the hamstring. Repeat three times each side for 20 seconds.

Moving up to isolating the shoulders and upper back, we find a sturdy pole or sign to perform this stretch with. Stand with toes pointed forward, legs shoulder to hip distance apart, and about an arms-width distance away from the pole. Erin holds onto the pole as she hinges forward at the hips and looks down at the ground. Keep your back in a straight line and hold this position for 10-20 seconds.

Last up in this sequence, is the body squat. For this movement, you want to stand up nice and tall and place your feet firmly on the ground in the "squat stance". This means feet are placed slightly outside your hips and toes are toed out 45 degrees. Next with a big chest and a flat back, Lisa is going to hinge at her waist and sit back as she bends her legs. Simultaneously, your arms can go up above your head or reach out in front of you.  You know you have gone down low enough in the squat when you can no longer keep a straight back. Once you are as low as you can go, you can hold that position and rock side to side to feel an even deeper stretch before standing up. Your hips, quads, and back will thank you with this one. 

Happy Travels! 

Evolve: Use Nature to Craft a Workout

Instep Lunge outside my apartment

Over the past few months, I have run and jumped around every inch of my Culver City neighborhood and found some easy ways to put together workouts using my surroundings. Cost for this is FREE and best yet, it takes less than an hour.

Everyday movements involve pushing, pulling and squatting. Each movement in the list is chosen to model one of these types of movement. Our human anatomy loves to move for short, fast bursts and then rest. The idea with these 10 minute AMRAPs (As Many Rounds as Possible) is to provide the body with a full body workout, while adequately giving each muscle group rest and time to recover in between the exercises. In addition, these workouts are metabolic, which means your whole body will be engaged and heart rate elevated. This is good for your heart and for keeping you lean and spry.

Choose 4, GO for 10 minutes:

Sporting goods stores sell tubes

Pick one movement from each category in the following way:

Chest Press w/ tube around a No Parking Sign

Day 1, 3: Push, Leg, Core, Cardio
Day 2, 4: Pull, Core, Cardio
Day 5: Leg, Core, Cardio

Rapid Step-Ups on a curb on my street

Box Jump up to the curb

Perform these workouts 5x/week with 2 days off of your choice. 

Example

The Hill- right down the street

"Lunge O'Mighty"
10 minute AMRAP:
Leg: Lunges uphill (10 each leg)
Cardio: Sprints up hill (50 m)
Core: Sit-ups (15)