Another day and another exercise!
By: Winston Gaffron
As we all know working out is good for us, we exercise and our body gives us a reward. You may call it more energy or an elevated state of awareness, but bottom line- it makes you happy. You feel good, you look good and you can eat more and not worry about it. Who in the world would not want that? Truly a reward fit for a king... and all we have to do is get out of the bed or up off the couch. It sounds so great, but why is it so darn hard? Why do people dread that trip to the gym or even a simple walk in the park? It's easy, I have the answer and its probably more simple than you had ever imagined.
Our brains are sophisticated machines capable of a processing a million things at once. Although some of us feel like we are using an outdated processor kind of like a Game Boy, I promise you that your brain is an amazing machine capable of amazing things.
Our minds love to be stimulated by new things we see or do.
It's kind of like a young businessman who gets a great new job in San Francisco right from a small- town college. He isn't getting paid much so he needs to live in a modest suburb outside of the city. He has a fairly long commute to work but is super-excited when he realizes on his morning commute he will be driving over the modern engineering marvel, the Golden Gate Bridge. For the first week he is excited to get up and experience the amazing scenery that he had only dreamed about seeing on a vacation as a small boy never imagining that he would get to see it every day.
Well as you can expect, as time goes by no matter how great the bridge is, he stops seeing the drive as fun and now it's just part of the rat race filled with traffic, tolls and meaningless pavement. This is the same thing that I see happen to people with their workouts. Switch it up, flip the script. Whatever you want to call it, do something different. Get excited about a new challenge. Take a different road to work. You may get lost the first few times and you will definitely be a little out of your element, but you will feel like doing it again and I guarantee your body will change for the better.
Here is a fun way to add some great core work combined with triceps and even a little chest and legs. Call it wood cutter or chopper...whatever you want to call it… It's sick. So if you want to get a really fun very dynamic fast full body blaster, here it is.
You are most likely going to the gym for this one unless you have some rubber bands and a tree.
Find a cable that is about 6 inches taller than you and hook a standard rope up to it (yes, the same rope everyone uses for triceps pushdowns).
Exercise 1 “Axe Swing”:
Take each end of the rope in each hand and turn to the left so the pulley is to your right.
Great! Now take a few steps away to give yourself some room. Imagine you have an axe in your hand and chop away. Let the rope go as high up as your body will allow.
Now turn into the chop keeping the rope close to the body and fully extending the arms getting the triceps involved.
Let the rope go back slow and controlled and then take a mighty swing.
Flip around and do this on the other side. This may feel a little weird because this is probably your non-dominate side. Just do the best you can.
Exercise 2 “Overhead Chop”:
Now I want you to do an overhead chop. This will get your abs and the rest of your body involved. Be sure to extend those arms like you are throwing a ball over your head using both hands.
Stand with feet slightly wider than hips width apart, squatting down slightly and reaching up behind you to hold the triceps rope. Lean forward (about 45%) keeping your feet locked, knees bent and buttocks flush with the equipment. This is the starting position.
Keep your body position the same as you extend your arms forward, hold 3-4 seconds.
Slowly bring arms back to the starting position. Girls go for about 20 reps on each angle and guys go for about 10-15 on each side... Men will use more weight than women depending on their physical abilities. This is a TRI SET! Do all three angles without rest...
This will be a fun way to switch it up a little. Getting a bunch of sweet muscles involved and even getting the heart rate up a little. Both guys and girls will benefit.
Go nuts, swing for the fence, grow a beard if you want, but most importantly have fun with your workout.
Winston B. Gaffron III
Bio:
- Bachelor of Science from the University of Kentucky while playing football for the Wildcats
- American Council of Exercise Certified
- 5 Years Working At the Malibu Gym as a private trainer
Focus
My focus as a trainer is to unlock the full potential that each person I work with possess. I am a strong believer in core and multi jointed dynamic exercises.
I believe that health and the body are tools that can help you to eliminate barriers no matter what they be. If you feel good, if you are confident and strong, your life will be better. Period.
The information provided on this site is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The information on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Nourish This site. Recipes and information provided on the Nourish This site are for personal use only.
