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New Year Countdown: Burpee Challenge

Happy New Year’s Eve to all of you Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym enthusiasts! In celebration of the impending New Year, I would like to share a burpee challenge inspired by trainers at Rise Above Fitness. I’ve tweaked the burpee challenge a bit to observe the lucky number 13. Run through this challenge to continually remind yourself that 2012 is soon to be a period of the past. Goodbye 2012. Enter, now, the year of 2013.

Complete this brutal burpee challenge to start off the New Year with a bang and detox from all of the holiday indulgences you ingested. This burpee challenge is an opportunity for you to kill two birds with one stone: To (1) cleanse and (2) commemorate the New Year.

Before you give this challenge a whirl, retrieve a timer to record the amount of time it takes you to brave this burpee routine at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

For this challenge you will need a weight bench, a pair of dumbbells, and a wall ball. Consult trainers at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym if you have questions concerning the exercise equipment.

2013 Burpee Challenge:

  • 13 Box Jump Burpees
  • 113 Double Unders
  • 13 Burpee Curl Presses
  • 113 Double Unders
  • 13 Ball Slam Burpees
  • 113 Double Unders

Give it a go. Push your limits. Sweat out the sweets and stagnation of the holiday season. Set the New Year on fire with a fierce Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym session.

Disclaimer: You will most likely feel a bit sore starting off the New Year upon completion of this challenge. That’s a good thing! It means your muscles got some sweet action. It means you are starting off the New Year boosting your strength and supporting your health. Props to you!

Enjoy your final day of 2012. Make your last workout of 2012 at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym count.

Finally, may you enjoy an abundance of health and strength in 2013!

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A Simple, Stimulating Circuit Challenge

‘Tis the season for feasting, indulging, and carbohydrate overload. If you’re already feeling the sluggish aftermath of excess carbohydrate consumption, it might be time to surrender the sweets and sweat out the accumulating impurities.

Yes, put down your gingerbread cookies, peppermint truffles, fruitcake or whatever your seasonal weakness is and get yourself to the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym immediately. It’s time to get down with a simple, yet stimulating circuit routine, inspired by Krissy Mae Cags, creator of BAMFit and a Rise Above Fitness trainer.

This circuit will be super effective if you keep up the pace. Remain active and really push yourself during your time at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club.

Okay, here we go. Are you ready? Yeah, you are!

Circuit Challenge:

  • 5 V-Ups
  • 10 Push ups
  • 15 Box Jumps
  • 20 Weighted Walking Lunges
  • 25 Kettlebell swings
  • 400M Run

Circuit Training

Running through this circuit routine once would be far too easy. That’s why you’ll challenge yourself to run through it 5 times! I said it would be simple. I never said it would be easy!

If you want to realize results, you have to challenge yourself. What’s more, if you’re going to indulge heavily in holiday pleasures, you must be willing to train hard – to put in lots of gym time and lots of sweat.

Don’t let this holiday season break your fitness routine and hinder your goals. Stick to structure. Create a Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym routine. Commit to clean eating 6 days a week and reserve one day per week for indulgences. I can’t emphasize this enough: Restriction is not healthy. Restriction will definitely result in a massive splurge at some point. That’s why it’s more effective to strategically incorporate your splurges so they don’t get in the way of your fitness intentions. Remember: Moderation in all things.

Enjoy your circuit training workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Most importantly, enjoy a happy, health-conscious holiday season!

Photo Credit: By Krissy Mae Cags via Instagram

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Two Ferocious Chest and Back Circuits

Next time you are at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym, destroy yourself with these killer chest and back circuits inspired by fitness innovators and educators Krissy Cags and Travis Baker.

First, enjoy this dirty, giant set of fortifying chest and back exercises:

  • Incline Barbell Press x 12 reps
  • Pull Up x 12 reps
  • Flat Bench Press x 12 reps
  • Bent Over Row x 12 reps
  • Dip x 12 reps
  • Reverse Grip Chin Up x 12 reps
  • Push-ups x 12 reps

Repeat this circuit 5 times, resting 45 seconds between rounds. Ouch.

Not going to lie, this will hurt. You’ll immediately feel like you put on some extra pounds of muscle after manning your way through this circuit beast. What’s more, you’ll definitely feel this one the next day. That’s a good thing! It means you successfully worked those chest and back muscles. It means you are moving forward, tackling your Greenville gym fitness goals and creating your best you.

To add more brutality to the fitness mix, here is a further series of exercises you can perform at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym to fire up the muscles of the chest, back, and more. Get ready and pumped to slam, swing, and slam some more.

Slam. Swing. Slam. via Krissy Mae Cags Webstagram

  • Rope Slams
  • Kettlebell Swings
  • Ball Slams

Fun, right? Right. You definitely gotta muster up some enthusiasm for this set!

Perform exercises as repeats of 40-30-20-10-20-30-40. That’s 40 of each exercise, 30 of each, 20 of each, and so on. We’ve got plenty of exercise equipment at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. However, if you can’t find some of the equipment necessary, ask a trainer or staff member at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club to help steer you in the right direction or modify the exercise. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

What’s the hold up? Transport yourself to the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. Suffer the burn. Generate a sweat. Strengthen and sculpt those chest and back muscles. Meet your fitness goals. Create your best version of you.

Kill it.

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Butts and Guts Challenge

I am about to propose a serious challenge for you to master next time you are working out at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club. Actually, challenge is an understatement in this fitness scenario. This “challenge” may be better described as a murderous, muscle-frying fight. One of my fitness gurus, Krissy M. Cags, is, again, setting the bar pretty high here; maybe, even, a bit too high. You gotta aim high, though, right? Right.

There is always room for advancement in your fitness regimen at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. There is NEVER room for boredom or stagnation. If you think your workout at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym needs a significant boost, here it is in the form of an energizing 1K exercise experiment.

This set of exercises is pretty simple, actually. The exercises are very straightforward. No funny business here. Yet, don’t get too excited or smug. I said simple. I never said easy.

Allow me to lay it out for you.

First, get in a short, cardio warm-up of 10 to 20 minutes tops. Then, here goes…

  1. Sit-up to Bridge Exercise – 1000
  2. Atomic Sit-ups – 1000

Yeah, that’s right. 1K of each exercise. Do it in whatever order you wish. Just do it!

If you are anything like me, you may prefer to ease your way into things. 1000 of each exercise may be a bit much right off the bat. I’d start out with 250. Then, jack it up to 500. Then, 750. Finally, 1000. See that? Baby steps.

Spice up your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym time with this crazy challenge once per week. By all means, up the ante to twice (or more) per week if you’re a super hero.

The bad news? This will kill. The good news? You are well on your way to stronger, more defined abs and glutes.

Fight for 1K victory at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club. Go all the way to 1K!

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Secrets of Navy Seal Strength

Desire Navy Seal status strength? Well, it’s your lucky day. I’m about to unleash a circuit training routine that Navy Seals use for cardiovascular and strength conditioning and endurance building. Practice this circuit when you’re kicking it at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville athletic club. If you can make it through this, you are one mean, physical engine. If you can’t finish it all, no worries. You must start somewhere.

Here she is: 13 grueling exercises for you to master at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. If you practice this routine twice weekly, it’ll yield impressive, fortifying results. This is a circuit, so start from exercise #1 and continue through the exercises until you reach #13. Then, repeat again…and again. Some of the exercises call for 5 repeats, while others only 3 or 4. As you will soon discover, the intensity tapers off towards the end, so you’ll land smoothly.

  1. Push-ups :: 35 x 5 reps
  2. Sit-ups :: 40 x 4 reps
  3. Dips :: 30 x 4 reps
  4. Swimmers :: 15 x 3 reps
  5. Hanging Knee-ups :: 15 x 3 reps
  6. Hanging Obliques :: 15 x 3 reps
  7. Body Builders :: 15 x 3 reps
  8. Breast Stroke :: 20 x 3 reps
  9. Squats :: 30 x 3 reps
  10. Lunges :: 30 x 3 reps
  11. Pull-ups :: 15 x 4 reps
  12. Wide grip pull-ups :: 15 x 4 reps
  13. Close grip pull-ups :: 15 x 4 reps

Whew. That’s no joke.

If you’re in topnotch shape, you should be able to get through this circuit routine in roughly 45 minutes. Take your time, though. No one at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym expects you to be a hero. There’s no set time limit. Just keep moving! Try your best to make it through the entire circuit regardless of how long it takes you.

As you continue to practice this circuit, you’ll find yourself working your way through it faster. Most importantly, you’ll realize increased endurance, enhanced muscle tone, and greater cardio power.

Enjoy!

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Welcome October with a Full Body Fitness Challenge

It’s a new month. With the dawning of a new month, it’s a good idea to create some new fitness goals and, also, to spice up your Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym routine with some innovative workouts.

Let’s start with the first. List at least 5 fitness goals for the month. Maybe it’s to get to the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym more often. Maybe it’s to concentrate on a particular area of the body, be it the abs, arms, etc. Maybe it’s to try something new; perhaps a Yoga, Pilates, or cycling class – something unexplored and fresh. Whatever it is, write it down. Post it to your fridge. Make the list visible. Make the goals accessible and achievable. No one expects you to gain 30 lbs. of muscle in 30 days. Although, this is supposedly possible according to fitness expert Tim Ferriss. Let’s aim at something more reasonable.

Now that your list is complete, let’s explore a quick workout you can churn out during your time at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. This routine, entitled The Special K Routine, is inspired by Krissy Cags, personal trainer at Rise Above Fitness and Creator of BAMfit. Do each of the following exercises for 25 reps, then run through it 5 times. Ready, set, work it.

Exercise 1: Sit-up to Bridge. Move from a full sit-up to a full bridge. Lift the hips all the way to the sky and engage the gluts with a tight squeeze. This movement targets the booty and the tummy, so you’re killing two birds – butts and guts – with one stone.

Exercise 2: Dive Bombers. Begin with your hands and feet on the floor and your hips raised, so your body resembles an inverted V. Lower your shoulders, then glide your chest forward. Send your chest in between your hands and then up toward the ceiling. Then, reverse it. Bring your hips back toward the ceiling. That’s one. 24 to go. Ouch.

Exercise 3: 180 Squat Jumps. Simply do a squat jump, but up the ante with a 180-degree turn each time you jump. Hey now! Keep your chest open and your core engaged. Be sure to get low on each squat. Don’t cheat yourself.

Exercise 4: Superman to Hollow. This is a bit tricky. Start like superman (on your stomach), with your legs and arms lifted off the floor. Engage your core, then roll over to your back without letting your limbs touch the ground into a hollow position. On your back, in the hollow position, your arms and legs are still lifted and you have a space (hence hollow) between your lower back and the ground. Hold for two seconds after each roll. This exercise is no joke.

BOOM. There’s a quick, intense, full body challenge for you to master at the Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym. It will surely murder your muscles…in a good way.

*All photos courtesy of Krissy Cags.

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Warming Up & Cooling Down

It doesn’t matter if you’re a weight lifter, yoga lover or treadmill runner – each and every activity you perform to work out requires warming up and cooling down. This isn’t just to make the activity easier on you, either. It’s an important part of the overall fitness process, protecting you from injury and helping you get the most out of your efforts. You should warm up in addition to, not instead of, stretching.

First of all, you’re literally warming up as your body heats up and blood pumps out to your extremities at a faster rate. Your muscles stretch and become more receptive to the push-and-pull being place on them by the exercise so that they can absorb the impact with minimal strain and keep you going longer. You’re also getting your heart rate to slowly accelerate rather than sending it straight to its maximum rate. And you can gradually quicken your breathing, with better control over your oxygen intake so that you can maintain your focus and stamina. This process should take about five to ten minutes.

At the end of your activity, you should also take about ten minutes to cool down. This means gradually decreasing your pace, as well as the intensity of the workout. For example, you might both slow your running pace as well as choose a less steep incline. You want to focus on reducing your heart rate to nearly its normal level by the time your cool-off is over. Doing this will decrease the likelihood of soreness the next day and let you move on to another fitness routine after only a short break, if so desired. You can actually welcome greater harm to your body by going from the height of your workout to sudden stillness, which can be abrupt and traumatic.

If you’re coming off a similar exercise that engages the same muscle groups, like going from an elliptical to a bicycle, you don’t necessarily need to warm up and cool down from both. However, keep in mind that taking extra time to warm up and cool down will ultimately give you a greater payout over the long-term when it comes to getting the most from your time at our Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym.

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Elliptical vs. Treadmill

At Pivotal Fitness Greenville sports club, we’re often consulted about what’s the better workout: treadmill or elliptical. Sometimes new members are trying to choose their preferred equipment to get started at the gym while others want to add an item to their home so that they can continue their fitness routine that they’ve developed here.

The first thing that’s important to know is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your fitness goals as well as your health. For example, if you’re training for a marathon on flat pavement or sidewalks, you may be better off training on a treadmill that can simulate those conditions for you. And if you have hip, knee or other joint weaknesses, you may not want to put extra strain on them by using the treadmill. Although the elliptical replicates walking up the stairs, it also supports those motions and puts less pressure on your muscles and tendons. You can also use a treadmill with an incline feature to replicate the additional challenge of striving uphill.

Some people also argue that the treadmill requires more energy on behalf of the user, because the elliptical actually helps you lift your legs and bring them back down again thanks to the motorized movements. Meanwhile, walking forward on the treadmill requires more of your own power and strength despite the fact that the machine also scrolls forward with you. The flip side to this argument is that the elliptical provides more of a full-body workout and engages more muscles throughout your legs as well as your upper body. So in the same amount of time, you might be able to work out more of your muscle groups even if it is less strenuous on some of them than the treadmill would be.

But how are people actually spending their money? In terms of gym equipment purchases intended for the home, most people prefer treadmills over ellipticals by an almost 40% margin, as of 2009. That being said, from 2007-2011, elliptical sales have been growing strongly every year and might one day catch up to the more traditional treadmill.

In the end it really comes down to your preference. The best way to figure out what will work best for you is to come by our Greenville gym and try out these machines – and many more – to determine which equipment and what routine feel most comfortable to you and will help you accomplish your weight and health goals.

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Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Activity

You’ve probably heard the words “aerobic” and “anaerobic” flung around since you first joined our Greenville sports club. They’re not super technical terminology, and you’re probably already acquainted with how they relate to certain tasks you already perform. But do you know what these phrases really mean and how they relate to one another?

The word “aerobic” refers to exercise that’s done “with oxygen.” This refers to the complex chemical reactions within your body, where prolonged exertion uses excess oxygen and turns it into energy. The type of workout that’s considered aerobic is anything that you do for a long time without stopping – but it isn’t too challenging or intense. It’s often associated with floor workouts, like we offer within our Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym classes. To be considered aerobic, a routine generally has to last 20-30 minutes without a break. With practice, you can steadily increase how long you’re active.

“Anaerobic” activity is exactly the opposite; it refers to short spurts of intense workouts. Weight-lifting is most commonly associated with this phrase, since it consists of a set of limited reps before you switch gears to perform another movement that targets a new muscle group. When oxygen is not as swiftly distributed to your muscles at the rate they require, and thereby consumed during your regimen, it becomes lactic acid. With a buildup of lactic acid in your system, you can run into muscle fatigue and require a break before repeating that set of motions. You can train your body to lengthen these intervals.

These phrases relate to your favorite American athletic activities, like:

Aerobic

  • Soccer
  • Dance
  • Track (long-distance)
  • Swimming (laps)
  • Skiing (cross-country)
  • Spinning/biking

Anaerobic

  • Football
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Swimming (races)
  • Track (sprints)
  • Skiing (slopes)
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Volleyball

Aerobic activity is considered better for the heart and lowering blood pressure, since it trains this organ to regulate the heartbeat over time and increases the flow of red blood cells. However, anaerobic activity is better for helping you tone muscles and change the shape and appearance of your body. Let us know your goals so that we can help you come up with a fitness routine that correctly blends aerobic and anaerobic activity for your most beneficial experience at Pivotal Fitness Greenville.

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Weight Lifting Helps You Slim Down

Many people, men and women alike, resist the notion that weight lifting is a critical component in a weight loss program. Somewhere along the way they got the notion that weight lifting adds bulk when it can actually help you slim down. Here are the top reasons you should add weight lifting to your fitness routine:

1. Weight lifting burns fat. By including weight lifting in your workout routine you are building muscle which burns fat so you increase your metabolism and burn more calories throughout the day, even when you are not working out!

2. Weight lifting maintains muscle. If you are combining cardiovascular exercise with a low-calorie diet you are probably losing muscle as well as fat, decreasing your metabolism and making it more difficult to lose weight.

3. You will feel stronger and more toned. By doing the right exercises you will quickly see results as your body parts become leaner and more toned. If you are not experienced with weight lifting and don’t know what exercises to do, hire a Pivotal Fitness personal trainer to get you on the right path.

4. Your energy will increase. Increasing your muscle mass will not only increase your metabolic rate and help you shed pounds, but you will also start to gain more energy, increasing your quality of life!

If you want to lose weight or get in better shape, weight lifting is a must. At the Pivotal Fitness Greenville health club we can help you get on the road to meeting your goals with tips like these. Our personal trainers and fitness specialists are experts in health and fitness and can help you change your life.

If you are not already a member of our Pivotal Fitness Greenville gym come in today to get a free 7 day pass.

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