Modifying the Burpee

This post goes out to all the aerobically challenged people in the audience. We've already discussed changing up the Burpee in terms of adding different exercises to the workout, but now I'm going to discuss just a few different ways to modify the Burpee. This will help those of you that aren't in amazing shape, to ease into the workouts instead of throwing yourselves straight into the fire.

Pictured: Approval

Being able to modify a workout has been a necessity for trainers and gym enthusiasts alike in the fitness industry for as long as it's been in existence. Not only will a simple modification help to ease up a workout, it can also help prevent injury.

I'll start by explaining a simple way to modify the "thrust" part of the Burpee and then move onto the push-up. Normally, when you squat down, you place your hands on the ground and kick your legs out behind you into a push-up or plank position. When you do this, it can sometimes cause strain on your lower back and is also considered "high impact" on your knees, feet, and toes. To prevent this potentially high impact and lower back strain, you can simply step back instead of jumping back.

Now, if you want to make the push-up easier too, you can modify it by placing both your knees on the ground when you come down into plank position. From there, you would perform your push-up just like a normal one, but using your knees as a "crutch" of sorts.

I'm sure there are at least a few of you reading this and trying to picture what I've just described, so I've posted a quick video below to show what a fully modified Burpee should look like, to help with any questions:

I've also updated my workout results from Week 8 along with my monthly picture and listed them below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
2/20/2012	Climber	4	6 min  34 sec	60 sec	40
2/21/2012	Ladder	15	22 min 30 sec	70 sec	120
2/22/2012	Pull-up	5	8 min 41 sec	60 sec	50
2/23/2012	REST
2/24/2012	Lunges	7	12 min 43 sec	60 sec	70
2/25/2012	Mix	6	10 min 39 sec	60 sec	60
2/26/2012	REST

With my second month's worth of Burpees officially finished, I will be continuing to increase my reps over the next 4 weeks. And with motivation somewhat lacking over the past few weeks, I felt this quote from the 1966 Sportsman of the Year, Jim Ryun, was appropriate:

"Motivation is what gets you started, but habit is what keeps you going."

L&R,

Drew

Dealing with the Sniffles

For the past week I've been dealing with a a case of the sniffles, and it gave me the idea to do a little research on the subject of exercising while being sick. Now I don't know about you, but in the past whenever I've come down with a cold, I've used it as an excuse to lay around feeling sorry for myself while watching old re-runs of Saved by the Bell.

Pictured: Zack Attack

If you've ever done any research on the subject, you'll know that exercising helps build up your body's immunity, in turn helping it to fight off colds, infections, etc... But what if you exercise while you're sick.

One bit of information I came across in my search, is the difference between moderately exercising versus high-stress exercising while being sick. Per WebMD:

"While immunity is boosted when you work out moderately, the opposite may be true for high-performance athletes, such as runners, swimmers, and other athletes that push their physical limits with intense training without sufficient recovery. For example, there's evidence of suppressed immunity during times of prolonged and intense exercise training with an increased number of upper respiratory infections."

Long story short, don't work your body too hard when you're sick.

Pictured: A Body Over-worked

As you can see from WebMD (a somewhat trusted source...), working out can be beneficial when you're sick so long as you do it in moderation. 

Now, by no means do I feel you should exercise if you've got a fever or are throwing up everywhere, but if you're debating skipping your workout because your nose is a little stuffy, then I say suck it up.

In the end, I decided to suck it up and push through my workouts for the week. Below are the results:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
2/13/2012	Climber	4	6 min  27 sec	60 sec	40
2/14/2012	Ladder	15	22 min  27sec	70 sec	120
2/15/2012	Pull-up	5	9 min 10 sec	60 sec	50
2/16/2012	REST
2/17/2012	Lunges	7	12 min 52 sec	60 sec	70
2/18/2012	Mix	6	10 min 46 sec	60 sec	60
2/19/2012	REST

I'll leave you all today with a quote from a well known author and historian, Thomas Fuller, I feel resonates with a lot of us that struggle to keep up a good workout regime:

"Health is not valued till sickness comes"

L&R,

Drew

Falling Off the Wagon

My name is Drew Snyder, and I'm a cheese cake addict. No, not just the normal fluffy white cheese cake you can find at almost any restaurant in New York City. No, I'm in love with fried cheese cake.

Pictured: Heaven

Yes, that's right. A few weeks ago, I unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) indulged in this guilty pleasure when it was erroneously brought to our table by our unknowing, yet thoughtful waiter. I like to picture Paula Dean waiting back in the kitchen telling the waiter that the skinny guy up front needs some cake to fatten him up...

Pictured: The Devil

Now, I'm writing this post not to make myself feel better for getting this off my chest, but rather to reassure all of you that it's okay to fall off the wagon every now and again. It's not the end of the world (unless the Mayan conspirators are right...).

For most people, "falling off the wagon" means to take up drinking again after you've quit for good. But I'm going to use this phrase to describe any mistakes people make while trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Of course, as I said above, I made my first mistake of the year by going against "The Burpee Diet" and eating some pretty fattening cheesecake.

Of course now, I could either sit and regretfully dwell upon this slip-up, or I can use this as motivation to work harder throughout my workouts. I choose what's behind door number 2.

With all that being said, my workout results from Week 6 are listed below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
2/6/2012	Climber	4	6 min  39 sec	60 sec	40
2/7/2012	Ladder	15	22 min 25 sec	70 sec	120
2/8/2012	Pull-up	5	9 min 29 sec	60 sec	50
2/9/2012	REST
2/10/2012	Lunges	7	13 min 26 sec	60 sec	70
2/11/2012	Mix	6	11 min 23 sec	60 sec	60
2/12/2012	REST

And today I leave you with a quote from the great American essayist, lecturer, and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."

L&R,

Drew

The Change-Up

I've now marched on through the first four weeks repeating the same workout over and over again while slowly increasing the number of reps I performed each day, and now I feel it's time to change things up a bit.

As you may or may not have known already, there are countless ways to vary up your workouts, especially when it comes to Burpees. But for now I'm specifically going to focus on three new moves that I'll be adding to my weekly workouts over the next month.

#1 - The Pullup

 

#2 - The Mountain Climber

#3 - The Lunge

Now you may be asking yourselves, "What about the Burpees?!", but don't you worry your pretty little heads. These forms of exercise can easily be added to the workout without compromising the original Burpee technique, the squat thrust. 

I've also attached a quick video not only displaying all three moves, but also showing that this workout is great even in a confined space, such as my office...or a jail cell.

And as always, I've listed my weekly workout results below for the start of Month 2:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
1/30/2012	Climber	4	7 min 45 sec	60 sec	40
1/31/2012	Ladder	15	22 min 30 sec	70 sec	120
2/1/2012	Pull-up	5	9 min 38 sec	60 sec	50
2/2/2012	REST
2/3/2012	Lunges	7	13 min 36 sec	60 sec	70
2/4/2012	Mix	6	11 min 42 sec	60 sec	60
2/5/2012	REST

side note:
Pull-ups per set = 10 reps (3 on Mix days)

Lunges per set = 10 reps (2 on Mix days)

Mountain Climbers per set = 10 reps (1 on Mix days)

And in the spirit of change, I'll leave you with a quote from the great Aristotle:

"Change in all things is sweet."

L&R,

Drew