There was a time in my life where every time I worked out I felt there had to be bells and whistles in order for it to accomplish something.  Yes, I was that ridiculous person standing on a swiss ball doing squats.  Someone somewhere probably has cell phone videos of me falling off!

When it comes to my workouts these days, it’s all about simplicity.  Each workout I ask myself, what needs to be accomplished and how can I challenge myself in a safe and appropriate level for how I feel today.

Safe is the key word there.  The most important aspect of my job is keeping my clients safe, but the same goes for myself in the gym.  Sure it’s fun to stand on a bosu with a dumbbell in one had doing curls while the other is pulling a band and your eyes are closed and a book is balanced on your head, oh and someone is also throwing stuff at you just to keep you guessing.  Ok, that would never happen……at least I hope!  The point is, the principles of great movement are simple, so why do we have to make our workouts so complicated?

I had a solid 40min today the knock out a workout, and thankfully because I let my body have some recovery time last week it was time to load up and get after it this morning!

After a 10min warm up to get my nervous system firing on all cylinders and the joints moving well (25 degrees today, brrrrrrrrr!), my workout today went like this:

1.  Landmine Deadlift 8 reps / Assisted Pullups for Negatives 6-8  Repeat 4x

2.  Reverse Lunge Weighted Reps/ Incline Pushups for Negatives 6-8/ Sit and Reachback 10 each side Repeat 4x

3.  Sumo Deadlift 8 reps/ One arm row 8/ One Leg Bridge 10 each side Repeat 4x

All great functional exercises addressing hip hinge and extension, push/pull strength, glutes and t-spine rotation.

Three things to note:  One, I have to modify many of these movements in order to have correct form.  It is always better to opt for a level that produces good movement, all hail the band assisted pull up!   Two, I live and die by the landmine when it comes my heavier lifts.  With 3 bulging discs in my low back and nerve impingement in play, I have learned the hard way too many times that there are lifts I just cannot do without a consequence.  But thanks to my handy landmine, there is hope and deadlifts love me again!  And finally, a lot of fitness programs take exercises like this and tell you to do as many as you can in a specific time period, asking you to compete against others for who can do the most.  Please don’t.  Quality movement is so important, and while I am all for challenging the body, remember to be safe.  If your form breaks down, exercise over!

Happy Monday Everyone!

-Shawn