“Grease the groove” means you do a specific movement frequently to build up the muscle/neural connections. It is about getting your brain to work more efficiently with your muscles.
Specificity + frequency = success!
Now for some tips to make this work. One way is to put a Pull-up bar somewhere in your basement or garage. Then, every time you walk by it, do your 1 Pull-up. Do not try for anymore than that. Just one…but do this often. Shoot for once or twice a day.
If you don’t have a Pull-up bar, then use the top of an open door. I actually did this with the door to my office at work. Every time I walked out of my office, I did 1 or 2 Pull-ups.
What you are doing is forcing your muscles and neurons to develop the memory of working together to achieve the movement. This increases your strength and ability to do the movement more effectively and efficiently. After several weeks, try doing as many Pull-ups as you can at one time. I guarantee you will have increased the number from where you started.
For example, in just four weeks, I went from 3 Pull-ups max to being able to perform 10 in a row.
Yeah, I know – pretty cool!
You don’t have to understand (or even care about) the science. Just try it out. Do it for Push-ups, or Dips, or whatever you want to improve on.
Just remember – specificity + frequency = success!
Warm up – jumps and crunches
It is time!
My various Slosh Tubes and Clubbells have been locked away in my pole barn all winter. Thanks to Michigan weather, I had several months where exercising outdoors was simply prohibitive. I suppose I could have done some Rocky Balboa type training in the deep snow, but I am just not that intense I guess.
We actually did a couple bootcamp style workouts the last few weekends and for some reason I stuck with K-Bootcamp, where the only piece of equipment is a Medicine Ball (well, and some cones). But now it is time. We need to dust off the tubes and bats and get ready for some serious workouts. By the way, don’t get me wrong – K-Bootcamp is a killer program, so be prepared if you haven’t tried it before.
However, to highlight my babies, I think I’ll just pull out the old K-Element 12 program to begin the punishment. My friend Aaron, the inspiration behind the Aaron Robert’s workout just commented on a recent post about creating his very own Clubbell and Slosh Tube. I don’t want to speak for him, but it is truly an enlightening experience. Transcending really.
So if you haven’t pulled the trigger, just take a few bucks with you (not much really) to your local sports store for the bats, and then the home improvement store for the Slosh Tubes pieces and cement for the Clubbells. A little work and some patience, and boom – you have a whole new fitness arsenal!
Don’t forget The Low Cost Gym for directions on building your own. And please share with us your experience with either of these wonderful, core-building, pieces of fitness equipment. Just leave a comment on the post.
Warm up – quickie
I admit Kemme Fitness can be on the edge of the cliff for over-intensity. I own that. I take responsibility for that. There is clearly a moral obligation for any trainer/blogger/instructor to be responsible to his/her audience and this program has the potential to overtrain.
How do I combat this? Well essentially I combat it in two ways. First, I provide many levels of workouts and programs to help those new to fitness or who need to start slowly. Secondly, I write many posts such as this one to help guide folks.
With that all said, it is easy for any of us who are pushing ourselves week after week to go a little too hard and overtrain. Just in case you wondered….overtraining is BAD! Yep, BAD!
To avoid overtraining, the biggest rules are to start slow and listen to your body. Your body has a way to help steer you in the right direction. Here are a few tips to help you be in tune with your body and avoid the nasty overtraining problems.
WARNING SIGNS: #1: extreme sore and stiffness after training #2: irritableness (not just at me during the workout, but actual mood changes) #3: decrease in body weight (not healthy shedding of fat, but more coupled with #4. #4: loss of appetite #5: lack of motivation and being unable to complete a training session. Essentially, you should feel better over all – not worse. It’s called common sense, but we all tend to put blinders on to this at times. PREVENTION: #1: increase training gradually (duh) #2: alternate more aggressive training days with less aggressive training days. (I’ll add to avoid more than 3 days in a row) #3: get plenty of sleep (can’t underestimate the importance of this one folks) #4: eat a healthy diet (keeps you able to work out, helps to avoid injury, and is obviously great for weight loss). #5: make adjustments to training program when needed (keep your ego in check and try less intense workouts when needed). Essentially, watch out for a plateau or drop in performance over a period of time, which is due to not letting your body sufficiently recover. I hope these tips help you to avoid the very common pitfalls of any intense fitness program. Stay safe!Below is a list of the main muscles associated with “the core.” However, before we list the muscles (which essentially run from your butt to your shoulders) let me quick throw out a few lines about the important of a developed, strong, and healthy core.
Now, here is a list of the main categories of “core” muscles:
- Rectus Abdomins – the superficial layer of the abdominals (or better known as the six-pack). This muscle runs from the ribs to the pelvis and is responsible for trunk flexion (as in crunches). This muscle provides stability to the spine and pelvis when working with the other core muscles.
- Multifudus – the group of muscles that run between the vertebra in the spine providing extension and rotation to each spinal segment.
- Transverse Abdominis – the deepest muscle layer of the abdominals. It’s a belt or brace that runs horizontal attaching to the spine, giving a narrow or slim appearance to your waist. Considered to be one of the most important muscles in spinal stabilization.
- Internal and External Obliques – the intermediate layer of the abdominals. These muscles run oblique from the pelvis (or hips) to the spine and are most effective in trunk rotation.
- Gluteus Maximus/Medius and Minimus – the hip muscles located on your buttock that also support and stabilize the hips and spine.
- Pelvic Floor Muscles – the muscles that run from the pubic bone in the front to the tail bone in the back. They provide support for the organs in the pelvis. These are the internal muscles used to stop the flow of urination.
- Scapular Stabilizers – also referred to as the rotator cuff, located on the back and around the shoulder blade. These muscles are important in shoulder movement, providing a smooth integration between the shoulder joint, shoulder blade and clavicle.
As you can see, we are not talking about doing ab exercises here. We are talking about building a central pillar of strength. Not just strength folks, but also the development of lightning fast neural-muscular connections so your brain can activate ALL the needed muscles instantly for any movement. There are two words to summarize this type of condition. Yep….you called it: Functional Fitness!
