Archive for February, 2008
Jump Rope Techniques Instructional Video
Do you exercise to lose weight or build cardio stamina but hate running? A great alternative fat burning exercise is using the rump rope. Like running, jump roping focuses on endurance and burning calories. In addition, jumping rope improves your coordination and agility. There are athletes who can run miles without getting tired that are out of breath with only a minute or two of jump roping. This video shows the basics. There are many variations which we will get to later.
Listening to music while jumping rope is a great way to keep your rhythm.
Swiss Ball Stretches Instructional Video
The swiss ball can also be used to stretch various muscles throughout your body.
Swiss Ball Exercise Instructional Workout Video
Swiss ball workouts are great for entire body while focusing on strengthening your core muscles. They also provide variety in your daily workout routine. This video shows beginning and advanced exercise movements using the swiss ball.
Medicine Ball Total Body Workout Instructional Video
The only equipment you need for this total body workout routine is a medicine ball. Medicine ball workouts are beneficial because they target your core (abs and back muscles) for increased stability and power. The medicine ball exercises also target a large a range of muscles in your body providing a great total body workout.
For athletes, I recommend total body exercises like these performed with the medicine ball to teach your body to work as a single unit and generate functional strength. Functional strength means the exercise actually helps you to more easily perform everyday activities and improve athletic performance. Two side benefits are that the routines for functional strength provide variety to your workout and are actually FUN to perform. Isolated muscle lifts like bicep curls are great for body builders but do little to train your muscles to work together and become boring. For this reason isolated lifting does not provide much benefit for everyday activities and sports activities compared to functional strength lifts.