The 3 Rules of the Ultimate Grind

In my biased opinion, the Ultimate Grind is the best exercise program anywhere...if you do it right.

So this begs the question, "How do you do it right?"

You'll be in good shape as long as you follow the 3 rules of the Ultimate Grind:

Rule #1 "Form Over Glory"

Never compromise your form just to do a "more intense" variation of an exercise. As you know, every exercise we do has modifications and progressions, which is why participants at all fitness levels can exercise side by side. If you perform a progression that your body's not ready for, you're not being safe...and safety is the #1 rule of the Ultimate Grind.

Rule #2 "Don't Fake It"

Many of our exercises are technical(the deadlift, the squat,the 45 degree row, even the pushup and the shoulder press), which means there's a right way to do them and a wrong way to do them. When you're starting out, it's easier to do them the wrong way....don't let yourself do it! These exercises build the foundation for everything you will do in the future....listen to your coach and do them right!

Rule #3 "Don't Skip Workouts"

Sure...things come up and you might not be able to make every single Ultimate Grind workout. That's OK, but if you miss a workout, exercise on your own. Don't know what to do?....Do your corrective exercises, a 30 minute interval run, 3 sets of the "big 5" for strength....and you should be on track for your next workout.

What's a Super-Set?

A super-set is when you do 2 or more sets immediately after one another. These exercises can be for the same muscle group or different muscle groups. My favorite super-sets involve using the same muscle groups in different ways. For example, you could do a bench press for chest and arm strength followed immediately by a 1-arm press for stabilization. Another one of my favorites is squats followed immediately by explosive jumps. I use super-sets in my workouts whenever I get the chance!

Don't skip out on those corrective exercises!

The corrective exercise portion of every workout is thought to be optional. It's because it is! That being said...most people don't know why it's optional. It's optional for those of you who have passed the over-head squat test and single-leg squat test with flying colors. If this isn't you...do your corrective exercises! You've got muscle imbalances you need to deal with!

Tabata inspired workout today

Wow! Dr. Tabata really knows what he's talking about!...today was just the tip of the iceberg...we'll have more Tabata style workouts...gauranteed!

The 3 Most Fundamental Exercises

After I published an article titled “5 most important exercises” clients started asking me why we spend so much time doing exercises that aren’t as “important.” That’s because there are some exercises that are even more important than the “5 most important exercises”…believe it or not!

It’s true…there are 3 specific exercises that help correct many of our muscle imbalances and lay the foundation for almost every exercise we will ever do. These exercises might not be exciting, they might not be flashy, but they are the 3 exercises that will be the most fundamental to your long-term success. These exercises help us develop core strength and help us to “wake up” the muscles that need to be doing more work.

These 3 exercises are the plank, the bridge, and the cobra.

1) Plank
Lie on your stomach with your feet together and forearms placed on the ground. Clench your fists under your shoulders, draw-in your navel and contract your glutes. Lift your body off of the floor and raise up until your body forms a straight line from head to toe. Hold the top position for a few seconds.

2) Cobra
Lie on your stomach with your arms extended alongside your body, palms facing the floor. Draw-in your navel, contract your glutes and pinch your shoulder blades together. Next, lift your chest and hands off the floor at the same time, keeping your arms straight. Hold the top position for two seconds. Slowly lower yourself down to the starting position.

3) Bridge
Lie on back with knees bent, feet flat and shoulder-width apart. Draw-in belly button and squeeze butt muscles. Lift pelvis off floor until knees, hips and shoulders are in line, pushing through heels. Lower your pelvis to floor.

The plank is simple, but one of the best core exercises out there. The cobra gets those lower traps going and helps to improve your posture. The bridge activates the glutes, helping to significantly reduce the chances of knee or lower back pain. I recommend doing all 3 near the beginning of every workout!

The Ultimate Grind After Work

It's true..the first-ever evening Ultimate Grind class met today. It's a small group, but and enthusiastic one! Parking won't be as easy, but waking up will be! I'm fired up for the next 6 weeks!

The 5 Most Important Exercises

For each of these exercises, proper technique is absolutely vital! If you do them right, you’ll build an extraordinary amount of functional strength. If you do them wrong, your chances of injuring yourself go through the roof! I’ll even go so far to say that if you’re not 100% committed to proper technique, don’t even do these exercises….just stick to the machines, with everyone else who doesn’t know what they’re doing!

So here they are:

1) Squat (body weight)
Stand with your feet facing forward, shoulder with apart, and your knees slightly bent. Slowly squat, bending your knees and keeping your feet straight. Keep chest up, squeeze your butt muscles, press through your heels and fully extend your legs.
Key point – You want to feel like your glutes are doing 90% of the work.

2) Dead lift (body weight)
With your feet shoulder width apart and a slight bend in your knees, bend over so your back is flat and parallel to the ground. Stick your butt out so that you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. If you’re doing this right you should feel almost all of the tension in your hamstrings and almost no tension in your back. Stand up, using your hamstrings and glutes.

3) Push up
Start in push up position with your hands slightly more than shoulder width apart. Make sure that your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles are all in a straight line. Slowly lower your chest to the ground, pinching your shoulder blades together, maintaining perfect alignment. Press your body back up into push up position.

4) Bent over row
Stand on top of your resistance band with your feet pointed straight ahead and draw in your navel. Bend at your waist until your chest is at a 45 degree angle to the ground. Extend your arms and let them hang in front of your body, grabbing an end of the exercise band with each hand. In a rowing motion, bring your thumbs up toward your armpits. Contract your shoulder blades together and be careful not to arch your back. Return your arms to the starting position and repeat.

5) Shoulder press
Stand on top of your resistance band with your feet pointed straight ahead and your hands holding the resistance band at shoulder level. Make sure that your shoulders are not hunched forward and that your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles are all in a straight line. Press your hands over your head, lower, and repeat.
Each of these exercises can be modified to meet your training goals. If your goal is to develop stability, you could do 1-arm or 1-leg variations of these exercises. To build strength, you could increase the resistance. That being said, don’t make any progressions until you’ve developed flawless technique.

Coach Sweat's All-In-One Workout

It’s so hard to find time to exercise now-a-days! That’s why…when I get the chance to exercise; I want to do everything I can! Here is an example of a workout I like to do that incorporates cardiovascular training, strength training, flexibility training, and balance training.

Set your stopwatch for 1 minute intervals and go for a jog with an exercise band in your hand. Preferably, you want to run on a trail or a bike path. After jogging for 10 minutes perform the following circuit of exercises. You’ll do each exercise for a full minute. Jog for a minute between each exercise. Repeat this circuit twice.

Plank-rows – This is an excellent exercise for your core! Get in a push-up position with both hands on top of you exercise band. While gripping the band, slowly pull your left fist up to your chest. Then lower your left hand to the ground and repeat with your right hand. Do this for a full minute.

Standing bicep curls to shoulder press – Stand on your exercise band while gripping it with both of your hands. Keeping your shoulders back in perfect posture, do a bicep curl followed immediately by a shoulder press. Each repetition should be slow and controlled.

Split-squat jumps – With one foot in front to the other, jump as high as you can, switching your feet in mid-air. Repeat for the entire minute alternating your front leg with each jump. Try to use your glutes as much as possible and always make sure your front knee is behind your front foot.

Rotation push-ups – Do a push-up and then reach your right arm as high as you can. Your chest should be perpendicular to the ground. After your next push-up reach your left arm up in the air. Do this exercise, alternating your arms for the entire minute.

Up and outs – Hold your band like you did for the curl-press. Keep your arms straight throughout the entire exercise. Bring your hands up in front of you, then out to the side, then back in front of you, and down. The entire movement should be slow and controlled. It’s one of the best shoulder exercises out there!

Alternate 1-arm snatches using your exercise band – Hold the band like you did for up and outs, but get down in a squat position with your arms down by your side. With one explosive movement, stand up and lift your left arm over your head. Then repeat with your right arm. The secret to this exercise is to keep your back straight and use the power of your legs to lift the band over your head.

Sometimes I’ll do a third set of rotation push-ups and plank rows if I want to get in some extra core work. Then I’ll do a 5 minute cool-down jog and I’ll finish with a 9 minute yoga routine. Specifically, I’ll do a “Triangle Warrior” followed by a “Sun Salutation,” holding each pose for 30 seconds. This entire workout takes under an hour. Not bad for such a complete workout!