Week #4 Fitness Challenge

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to kicking this week off with nothing short of awesome!

How have your challenges been going the last couple of weeks? Have you been able to complete them? Have there been any struggles that you have experienced or successes that you have had? Remember, we are here for you and are able to answer any questions that you may have.

Ok, on to this weeks challenge.  This week we are doing: Limit your caffeine...( I know, NOT the caffeine!) to only 16fl.oz. each day.  This will cover ALL forms of caffeine (coffee, soda, tea, etc.) This will be good for you and I won't lie some of you might go through a withdrawal but the reason for this is because caffeine is a stimulant and while I won't say its bad for you (because research has shown with coffee and 1-2 cups a days has health benefits) we typically replace water with other beverages (most with caffeine) and it doesn't hydrate us, it will do the opposite and dehydrate us.  So, lets get to drinking less caffeine, replace the remainder with water, and get hydrated! (I know, I made it sounds very exciting.) But, it really is a great thing for your body.

For the fitness part of your challenge this week, daily you must complete 30 push ups and 5 burpees! Yay! This will help boost your

I hope that you guys have a great week and I know you all will rock these challenges.  Keep up the good work and kick butt! Just remember to keep going forward towards your health and fitness goals.  Make a motivational wall, take out those clothed that you want to wear, write down a quote or leave a book that speaks to you out, etc.  Do what its is you have to do to help yourself stay motivated. You can reach your goals.  It is all possible.  I assure you, it all can come true.  And, as always....

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Move Of The Week: The Commando Push up

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope that you all had fun with the squat challenge! It is differently difficult as the week goes on but you can really see how easy it is to slip into your daily routine and hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Anyways, on to the new MOVE OF THE WEEK! I must admit that I am actually very excited to share this one with you because it is a more difficult move to do but it is great for your upper body, your abs (yay!) and even your legs. This move is called the Commando Push-up. Now, I know what you are thinking... "that move even sounds cool!" And you would be correct! Not only does it sounds cool but it is a very cool exercise to do. Ok, now lets get serious.

So here is how you do it:

You are going to start off in a push up position, bring your chest all the way to the ground (or as low as you can go with good form), lift your hands off the ground briefly to make sure you are all the way on the floor, then put your hands back and press yourself up. Now, back in to the up phase of the push up position bring your right knee to your right elbow, then your left knee to your left elbow. And repeat. (Please review the picture for reference) 

A modification to this for beginners would be to do the push ups from your knees and then come up to a plank and bring your knees to your elbows. 

Enjoy the new move and I hope that you all have a great time trying it out in your workout routine! Talk to you soon and remember you can always contact us if you ever have any questions. 

Committed to your health and fitness,
Justin and Angie LaPointe

Move Of The Week: The Push-up

This week we are going to focus on the push up. The reason why it is the Move Of The Week is because it is one of the few moments that you can do anywhere, modify to meet the level of every person regardless what level they are at, and lastly, it is one of the most functional movements that you can do. 

The muscles that are being worked when you do a push up are the chest muscles, the triceps (the back of the arm), and the core muscles (which start at the belly button and wrap around to the back) and even your legs work because if you are on your toes then you are having to engage the muscles in your legs to keep them straight! So, what does a proper form push up look like and how is it done? Well, let us scan below to our image:

·         Notice that his shoulders are active to avoid him from sinking and to keep him up, his core is tight which keeps his butt level and his back straight.

·         Note you don’t have to come down to touch the floor like the drawing does but it is an option for people that have a lot of experience with push-ups, are advanced and would like to challenge themselves to make it harder. Then try bringing your chest all the way to the ground and pushing up from there.

·         Also, you can do this move from your knees, work up to your toes, and then work up to chest to ground push-ups.  That is a great progression for beginners.

That is one of the best things with this move, you can do it anywhere, anyone at any level (beginning, intermediate, advanced) can all do it and you can even mix it up by adding unstable surfaces, making incline or decline, adding weight, even moving your arms closer to your chest or further away can make it harder or easier, and the list can go on!

Try to incorporate this move this week in your work outs. Whether you are going to try to work this exercise for the first time or if you are going to try one of the more advanced moves, make sure to keep your form. That is the most important part, as soon as it starts to break, then take a break and rest.

Good luck this week you guys and I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

Committed to your health and fitness,

Justin and Angie LaPointe