7 Best All-Around Exercises
About a year ago I posted an article called “The 7 Worst Exercises”. It shocked a few people because the list contained a few beloved exercises like the “Thigh Master 2000” and elliptical trainers, exercises a lot of people thought were great exercises (read the post here and learn which others made the list and why). After posting the article I had numerous people ask me, “Mat, what are the 7 best exercises?” I just figured I had written and spoke enough about all the good exercises that I didn’t need to make such a list. So let me reiterate my criteria for a “good...
read moreFunctional Warm-up for Boot Camp or Training
Warming up has changed throughout the years. Back when I was in high school athletics we did a series of static stretches. You know the kind…the whole team spreads out in lines on the field and you bend over and reach for your toes while trying to keep your knees straight at the same time you count to 10 as a team then clap and move onto the next stretch. Most the time nobody was real serious about getting a good stretch, half the time someone would break wind and then the whole stretching session was blown because we would be laughing so hard. I’ll be honest we were...
read moreI’m Sooo Sore!!
“I’m sooo sore!” This is a common comment I get when I ask a new client/camper how they are feeling a day or two after their first workout, or even a veteran client/camper a day or two after a new workout routine. This soreness is called “delayed onset muscle soreness” or DOMS. Science can not tell you what causes DOMS. Though science has now decided that it is NOT caused by lactic acid, which was a common belief. It seems DOMS takes about 24-48 hours to really set in. This soreness is commonly referred to as “stiffness” a day or two after...
read moreNew Year…New You
Before the holidays rolled around I asked my campers/clients to commit to tracking their exercise and nutrition to stay faithful during this difficult time of year. Points were awarded for working out, eating vegetables, lean protein and healthy fat. Because they were tracking how often they exercised and followed their nutrition plan most clients did pretty well, while others cheated like Tiger Woods. Still others like Tammy Massey, Lynnette Wolf and Robbie Rainaldi killed it. Out of 115 points possible they scored 111.5, 101 and 96 respectively. They were the only ones to bring in...
read morePerfect Posture
I love to people watch. I mean who doesn’t? The other day I got lassoed into going to the mall with my beautiful wife and kids and while my wife and daughter were in the women’s only underwear store (which is kind of weird, guys don’t have a guys only underwear store??? But if we did it sure wouldn’t be called Victor’s Secret). Anyway while sitting outside Victoria’s place I had a chance to observe mall life. We’re talking all kinds of shapes, sizes, styles and ways of life a true slice of red, white and blue Americana. I don’t think...
read moreBody Weight Only Boot Camp Workout
Here is a full body, metabolism boosting boot camp workout with exercises I consider to be fundamental movement patterns. Most other exercises are some variation of these basic exercises. The advantage here is that it can be done virtually everywhere. The only piece of equipment required is the best piece of equipment you will ever own…your body. If you’re on the road traveling and don’t want to miss your workout or you can’t get away from the house to go to the gym. This 20 minute workout will really rock your world. I initially excogitated this workout for...
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