Anaerobic Cardio

Here is one of the Anaerobic Cardio Workouts that I have been using to finish my clients training sessions. It is challenging and will push your limits!

One Arm Swing 10 reps each arm
Jumping Jack 25 reps
Push Ups 10 reps
Jumping Jacks 25 reps
DB Snatch 10 reps each arm
Jumping Jacks 25 reps
Burpees 10 reps
Jumping Jacks 25 reps

Perform one after the other with no rest.

Repeat 2x

This also works great for a short quick workout.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Keep Training Hard,

Josh

So Sore

Yesterday I gave you the workout that I did. And let me tell you I can't believe how sore I am today. My upper back muscles feel like I was beat and my thighs feel the same way. It's a great feeling that I enjoy. So if you haven't tried it out. Get to it the next time you workout.

Until Next Time,

Josh Proch

Killer High Intensity Interval Workout

I just did this workout today. Let me tell you it was tough. I pushed myself to the limit and by the end my legs felt like rubber, hands were shaky, and my heart was pounding. So if you're up to the challenge here it is to try out. It only takes about 25 minutes.

BB Clean 3 x 2

Supersets
Sand Bag Squat 3 x 10
Push Ups 3 x 20

Single Leg Squat 3 x 5 each
Sand Bag Shoulder Press 3 x10

Circuit
Single Arm DB Swing 1 x 10 each
DB Snatch 1 x 10 each
DB Swing 1 x10
DB Turkish Get Up 1 x 2

There you go try it out and let me know what you think.

Push Your Limits,

Josh

Proch Performance Training Website

The official Proch Performance Training Website is now up. Go to www.prochperformancetraining.com to find workouts, articles, contact info. and much more to come soon.

Defintion of Insanity

"Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Jack Canfield

Are you doing this with your workouts?

If so you need to make some changes.

Are you currently using fancy machines, single-joint exercises (e.g bicep curls, side raises, leg extensions), trying to develop that six pack with numerous crunches, and spending countless hours on the cardio equiment?

If you are and not seeing the results you desire then its time to change. DON'T BECOME INSANE and keep repeating the same unproductive pattern and hoping for a change. Make a change and get the results you desire.

Start sqauting and deadlifting. Perform bench presses, shoulder presses, bent-over rows, and pull-ups. Begin to only use free weights and bodyweight exercises in your workouts. Perform interval cardio training. Keep your workouts short and the intensity high.

Do theses things and watch the results come rolling in.

Unitl Next Time. Keep Training Hard!

Josh Proch



Post your questions and comments.

Resisted Running/Sprinting

Resisted Running/Sprinting is typically used to increase acceleration in athletes, but recently I have found it useful as a training tool for general fitness.

So what is Resisted Running/Sprinting anyhow?

All that it is is running or sprinting with some form of resistance holding you back. For this article I will just refer to a Jump Stretch Sprinting Station. All this is is a bar that is attached to the wall with a giant rubber band attached to the bar and you put the other end around your waist.

Typically with athletes you would have them sprint out as far as they can and then slowly let the band pull them back in, and then repeat for any number or reps. But for someone looking for general fitness this same drill works as a great conditioning exercise. Many times I will pair it with another exercise or two. Like tire flips, farmers walks, squat jumps, or burpees. And perform them back to back with little or no rest in between.

I also just realized today another use for resisted running. I kinda just stumbled on to it, but hey what ever works. Right? Anyhow if you cannot run or have trouble running because of knee problems or something similar this may be a good substitute for you. Instead of sprinting out just run/jog out a little way and stay there and run in place. This seems to help take some of the strain off your knees and lower body joints and muscles. The reason it does is because now the rubberband is taking some of your body weight off, instead of you have to care the full load.

Try out either of the ways and post you comments.

Keep Training Hard!

Josh Proch

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 3

Here is Part 3 the final part of this 3 part article. Hope you have enjoyed reading it and will continue to train hard and have great training success!

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 3

I have often heard people say “I have tried this or that program and it didn’t work.” And then continue to complain about all the things that program didn’t do. However, it probably really comes down to the individual didn’t do what they were supposed to do and didn’t follow the program the way they were instructed to. This next statement came from a speaker I was listening too. “The program always produces results it is the individual who determines whether or not they achieve the results.” After hearing this I realized how true it really was. Every training program in the world will produce results no matter how poorly or how well it is designed. The determining factor is you and whether or not you follow it and take it seriously. This is even more true for a beginner because they have not been doing anything and will see results easily. However, a better program will produce better results than a lesser program, but that aside. As long as the program is followed you will see results. And let me define a beginner. A beginner is anyone who has never exercised or who has been away from exercise for more than a month. (If you have been training consistently for less than a year you also are classified as a beginner, but for this articles purposes I will stick to less than a month.) If you have been consistently training for longer than a year a poor program may not do much for you. But, if you have already been training consistently you already know what it takes and what to do to achieve your best.

The following is the story about how I got my start training. And trust me my first program was not good. However, it still produced results.

I started training when I was 12 years old. All I had was one 10 pound dumbbell and my bodyweight, nothing else. I had no idea what I was doing other than I wanted to get bigger and stronger. I was a very skinny kid. I knew a couple of exercises so I started with those. Slowly I would think of something else I could do with that DB or with my bodyweight. I would write down all of these exercises in a notebook and in an order that I thought was good and I would do all of this everyday. This was so wrong, but I didn’t know that. I was learning how to workout. So anyhow, I had this program in my little notebook that I would do everyday and never changed it much, maybe added something new every now and then. Some of the exercises were good others were horrible. I don’t think some of them even could be called exercises, but I thought it worked something. Before and after each workout I would roll all of my joints that would allow for rotational movement in circles in each direction until nothing would crackle. This did nothing, but I thought at the time it did. When I think of the things I did when I first started training it makes me laugh. But, I didn’t know any better I just thought that if I would do this everyday and work hard at it I would get bigger and stronger. And I did. There just are better and smarter ways of doing it that would have produced even better gains. But I followed this program consistently for a year and a half until I was able to start lifting real weights in the high school weight room. My point is even though my first program was terrible I was still able to get bigger and stronger because I was consistent and believed in it. And the same goes for any other beginner. If you are consistent, take your workouts seriously, and believe that you will achieve the results you want; you will no matter how good or bad your program is.

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 2

Continuing with Part 2 of this 3 part article. Part 3 coming soon!

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 2

People who are successful with their fitness realize that exercise must be a main focus of their life, even more than that it must be a lifestyle. These people will make the sacrifices necessary to get into the gym when they don’t have time and eat right when they are on the road. They have taken control of their lives and hold themselves accountable for their decisions, not blaming someone else for why they aren’t in shape. They also realize that a successful exercise program is not to be fun, it is to be a challenge. You are to hate it, but also love it. And they are always up for the challenge. A successful person will view their training the same way a successful athlete would view their training. Because in reality you are very similar to an athlete. The athlete is training for their particular sport and to be able to handle everything that is thrown at them. And you are training for life and to be able to handle the physical challenges thrown at you everyday.

People who are successful with their fitness program believe in themselves and believe they can achieve the results they are looking for regardless of how hard it may be. They believe in themselves and that they will be successful. If you don’t believe that you will achieve your goals how do you expect to see results? You can’t. By believing that you will reach your goal you give yourself that extra drive to keeping pushing when you don’t want to and would rather go home. That is what makes the difference between reaching your goal and not reaching it.

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 1

This will be a 3 part article. Here is part 1. Be sure to check back for Parts 2 & 3 coming soon.

TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY - Part 1

If you do not take your training seriously how do you plan on ever getting results? If you are serious about your training you will never miss a workout and you will prioritize it over other things in your life. People who do not train seriously never achieve much. They always have an excuse why they missed a workout, why they couldn’t get 7-8 hours of sleep, why they didn’t eat properly, and so on and so on. If you want to see results stop making excuses and start taking control of your actions. It seems as if today it is just easier to make an excuse for why we didn’t do something we should have, instead of just doing it. And then blame the outcome on someone or something else. You cannot do this if you want to see fitness results. You are the only one that can determine if you will workout, how hard you will push yourself, or what you will eat, not anyone else. You make the decisions that affect your life. I had a football coach in college who said to us one day, “Wherever you are in life is exactly where you want to be.” He went on to explain how you currently may not like the situation you are in but you have made the decisions that have put you there. Since then that comment has stuck with me and I have noticed how every decision that I have made has put me where I currently am in life. Now I’m pretty happy with my life, but what if I would have made only one different choice? Well, I would probably be doing something different. The point is that every day, every minute you make decisions that will affect how successful you are with your fitness program. You can choose to skip your workout and go have a couple beers and chicken wings with your buddies, or you can go workout and then have a grilled chicken breast with steamed vegetables. You can stay up late every night working or watching TV and then end up skipping your workout the next day because you are too tired. Or you can put the work down, shut off the TV and go to bed getting the 7-8 hours of sleep you need to be able to train at your best during your workout the next morning. You will also get more done if you are well rested and in shape rather than running on E all the time. The fact is that YOU make the decisions that will affect YOUR life and no one else. And it is only you that can determine how successful you will be in reaching your fitness goals.

Do You Have A Question?

If you have a fitness related question I want to hear it. There are two ways to send in your questions: 1) place a post on this entry with your question, or 2) email me at prochperformancetraining@gmail.com All answers to questions will posted on the blog. So start asking.

The 2 Best Exercises

Q: If you are short on time but still want to get in a good workout. What should you do?

A: Well definitely do not skip a workout. Even if you only have 10-15 min. you can still get in a great workout with these two exercises. The Barbell Squat and Pull-Up. With these two exercise you will work just about every muscle in your body. If you cannot do a pull-up use rubberbands to assist you or perform an inverted row. And no the Smith Squat and DB Squat do not count as a squat.

With just these two exercises you can create many different workouts. The Pull-Up has many variations and all of them are great and you can either do a Barbell Back Squat or Barbell Front Squat.

Here is a sample of a Challenging 10 min. workout.

Warm-up: Jumping Jacks 2 x25 (rest 10 seconds in between the two sets)

Pull-Up as many as possible
BB Back Squat 8 reps
Rest 30 seconds
L Pull-Up as many as possible
BB Front Squat 8 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Pull-Up as many as possible
BB Back Squat as many as possible

*only rest where I have specified.

Done!! Short and Sweet.

Let me know what you think.

Josh Proch

FARMERS WALK RELAY

Try this high itnensity carrying workout at the end of your your workout for an extra calorie burn or as I prefer in place of traditional cardio training. Start with three sets of DB's starting with the lightest set and carry them for 20 yards, then set them down and run back and pick up the next heaviest set and carry them down and run back and grab the heaviest set and carry them down and then do 25 jumping jacks and repeat this relay 4 times with no rest. Make sure you are using the heaviest DB's that you can carry to provide the best workout. By performing cardio training this way you will not burn off valuable muscles tissue and you will save a large amount of time. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Gym Boss Timer

For the past couple of months I have been using a Gym Boss Timer to keep track of rest periods for myself and clients. I wasn't sure about it at first I had read about it on another website and decided to check it out. It has helped to decrease the amount of time I spend in the gym and is providing a better workout. It also works great for interval training, which can be difficult to do using an ordinary timer. I highly recommend getting yourself one if you don't already have one. If you are interested in getting one go to gymboss.com.

NSCA Fly Solo Camps

Don't Miss This Great Opportunity To Improve Your Athletes Training!!

I will be holding 2 Fly Solo Camps at Pro Fitness Plus. These camps are an outreach program of the NSCA and can only be held by Fly Solo Mentors in each state. The purpose is to educate high school coaches and athletes how to safely and properly run their strength training programs to receive the best results.

The scheduled dates are 11/17/07 and 4/19/08 both starting at 8 a.m. There is a limit of 12 seats available on a first come first serve basis for each camp.

For more information contact me at prochperformancetraining@gmail.com or go to nsca-lift.org and click on the Fly Solo link.

Workout of the Day

Dynamic Warm-Up

BB Squat
DB Incline Press
BB Bent-Over Row
BB RDL
DB Standing Shoulder Press
Lat. Pulldown

*Do three sets of 8 reps for all exercises.

Plank (1 min)
Wood Chop 1 x 15

Stretch

Dynamic Warm-Up

At the start of each workout you must warm-up. Warming up properly prepares your muscles for what is about to come. By warming up you will have a better workout, be able to lift more, and decrease your chance for injury. The following is a typical warm-up that I use:

1) Push Up
2) Squat
3) Bent-Over Row
4) RDL
5) Standing Shoulder Press
6) Inverted Row
7) Lunge Around the World
8) Curtsey Lunge
9) DB Swing

Perform each exercise one after the other with no rest in between and for 10 reps each, except for Lunge Around the World go around twice.