I injured my rotator cuff (shoulder) years ago in an accident and it flared up again over the summer while I was hitting the weights pretty hard.

I managed to maintain my strength while I was away on vacation with some basic bodyweight exercises and working round the injury, but I’ve been itching to get back into some proper training again.

As soon as I got back from my hols I had some remedial massage work done, the guy that fixes me up is excellent but could work for at an interrogation camp. He doesn’t mess around when it comes to giving a thorough massage.

Having someone stick their fingers underneath your shoulder blade into muscles and ligaments that have never been touched before isn’t my idea of fun, but 2 weeks later it’s feeling much better.

I felt surprisingly strong for my first day back and could have done much more , but stopped myself from doing too much too soon. Ill have to build up the volume and intensity gradually over the coming months.

I love training outside down at Bondi Beach, the weathers beginning to warm up and I’m looking forward to daylight savings so we can train later in the afternoon.

Here’s the workout;

5-minute dynamic warm up with shoulder exercises (for injury).

Chin ups 3 sets of 10 reps
Kettlebell clean and press 3 sets of 10

Chin ups (reverse grip) 3 sets of 10 reps
Kettlebell snatch 3 sets of 10

5 minute cool down and stretch.

It’s amazing how good you can feel after one good workout – I can’ wait to get back into full swing again.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Boot Camp and Personal Training

                        

The gym at my hotel was pretty basic but as always on holiday I took a set of Olympic rings with me for some outdoor training. On my first attempt I hooked the rings over the only tree I could see that had branches (most of the trees around were palm trees), within 2 mins I had to move to another site coz I was getting attacked by giant green tree ants. After walking around for a while looking for another tree I found a kids playground which became my gym for the rest of my time in port Douglas.

I then flew to Darwin for next leg of my trip where men are men and so are the women. Unlike port Douglas I decided to stay in a backpackers and although noisy was lots of fun as I got to meet more people. I love Darwin – there’s always something to do, the place is buzzing 7 days a week and the town is very new and happening. The markets are great and the sunsets are the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world and literally draw in thousands on people.

I was also lucky to be there for the beer can regatta which only takes pace once a year, this involves drinking as much beer as possible throughout the day then racing boats made from beer cans and round a buoy about 100 metres out. Luckily everyone made it back without drowning – they sure love a drink in the Northern Territory.

After spending 5 days in Darwin I booked a 3 day camping trip to Kakadu National Park which turned out to be the highlight of the trip. Our tour guide was a great laugh and had me in stitches the whole trip, he’s a combination of Steve Irwin, Rodney rude and Crocodile Dundee.

Kakadu is an amazing place and far exceeded my expectations, everyday we were swimming in waterfalls looking at incredible scenery and viewing aboriginal artwork – some up to 50 thousand years old. You couldn’t go swimming in many places as many of the billabongs and creeks are infested with big crocs, but there are plenty of places that are safe.

During the trip we saw just heaps of wildlife including snakes, lizards, buffalo, dingo, saltwater crocs, freshwater crocs, sea eagles, kites, huge 7 meter termite mounds, rock wallaby’s and jabiru’s. We also saw jumping crocodiles in Adelaide river which is the only place in the world you can see a tour like this in the wild.

I booked a tour barramundi fishing and caught my first barra, we were swimming lures past the noses of 5 metre crocs but it wasn’t really the best time for barra fishing as it’s the ‘cold season’ (33 degrees is cold for the Territorians) but we still was caught around a dozen fish up to 75cm in length. We were eating barramundi for days and got so sick of it I gave the rest away to people in the hostel.

I got a ride to Litchfield National Park with two Irish backpackers I was staying with, like Kakadu the gorges and waterfalls are amazing and we spent the day swimming in different waterholes and looking at the incredible scenery.

Unlike Port Douglas I couldn’t train outdoors, it was just too hot for me. I found a good gym 5 minutes from where I was staying and managed to get a workout in everyday I wasn’t on a tour.

Well I can honestly say that it’s great to be back, one of the best things about going away on a long trip is coming back feeling totally relaxed and refreshed. I’m fortunate enough to have job I love and what better place to do it than Sydney’s parks and beaches.

Ill personally be hitting the training hard through August, although I managed to train 3-4 times per week while I was away Ive eaten out too much and will get back into good shape before it begins to warm up in September.

Training in the gym in Darwin was a nice change but I’ve missed training outdoors with kettlebells and sandbags, as much as I love the warmer climate it’s a lot easier training in colder conditions.

All through this week we’ll again be having fitness test’s at our Sydney boot camps, if you’ve been here through July be sure to come to these sessions so you know how much your fitness has improved. If your still thinking about getting started now’s a good time to before the September rush.

I look forward to training you again this week – see you soon.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit

                        

But now I’m in the best position of my life both physically and financially and I only go to the gym once a week to lift really heavy stuff – for fun.

The other 3 training sessions are all done outdoors in the park or at the beach with only the use of Olympic rings, sandbags, kettlebells, bodyweight and med-balls – all tools that we use at our boot camps.

It’s funny but as soon as I stopped working and training at the gym my life instantly got better.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to imply that leaving the gym was the only reason for a turn in events, but it just worked out that way.

Here are 5 reasons why NOT to go to the gym…

1. Waiting for equipment
This used to drive me nuts. I reckon I’d waste a quarter of my valuable workout time waiting for equipment. Not only are you getting cold whilst you’re waiting but it’s impossible to finish your workout without spending an extra 15-20 minutes in the gym – and who wants that?

Either build your own home gym, join a fitness boot camp or use the jungle gym at parks and beaches – that’s what they’re there for.

2. People bugging you
Now I don’t know if people just used to bug me because I was a trainer but I’d spend half the time answering people’s questions. I’m not anti-social but if I’m training the last thing I want is to be asked questions when I’m In mid workout – if you need advice then hire a trainer. My Info Is reserved for my personal training and boot camp clients!

I was once asked a question mid bench press whilst listening to my I pod!

Then there’s always the guy that spends the whole time walking around the gym giving bad advice to unexpecting victims even though he’s In terrible shape himself – every gym has one, he’s the in house know it all.

3. Expensive memberships
What a con! Gyms are nearly as bad as banks. You pay hundreds of dollars for a membership card so you have the privilege to pay them a monthly membership fee – cheers!

Then you get locked into a long term contact with no way out (unless you give them more money).

For the all the money you spend on gym fees spend a few bucks on some useful pieces of home training equipment and use it for a lifetime with no more fees.

4. Useless equipment
A little secret in the fitness industry is that all those shining fancy machines you see in gyms are actually useless. I haven’t used machines for years because they don’t work – they don’t allow your body to move in the natural way it was designed to and often lead to overuse injuries.

If you want to be lean and toned forget about the machines, get yourself some dumbbells/ kettlebells, Olympic rings and you make your very own gym.

5. Rubbish trainers
The truth is most trainers suck. Some of these big franchise gyms (mention no names) churn through trainers so fast they simply cannot keep up with the demand of their massively high membership rates. So they hire trainer’s fresh out of 3 month fast track certification course and throw them on the floor. Many of these trainers have no experience training clients and by looking at them don’t have experience training themselves.

It’s time to try something new!

Get out of your comfort zone.

Get out of the gym.

Get outdoors.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously fit
www.bootcampsydney.com.au

                        

Fitness Myth #2 – As you age you gain fat.
There’s a common myth that as you age gaining fat becomes unavoidable. This simply isnt true – the reason you gain fat is because your metabolism has slowed down due to a lack of exercise and bad diet choices.

Fitness Myth #3 – Steady state cardio is best for fat loss
The problem with steady state cardio for fat loss is;
• It doesn’t burn many calories whilst performing the exercise and burns very little if any after.
• It causes the body to reduce its release of the fat burning hormones and enzymes.
• The body adapts by becoming more energy efficient, meaning your body has to work less to perform the same workout.

Interval training is far better for losing weight because you will burn far more calories and will keep your metabolism revving for up to 24hrs after you finish training. Interval training is short bouts(10-60 seconds) of high intensity exercise broken up with periods of low intense exercise. The good thing with this is that you can burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, so there’s no need to spend 45-60 mins pounding away on a treadmill, you can be done in 20-25 mins and that’s including your warm up and cool down.

Fitness Myth #4 – Stop exercising & your muscles turn to fat.
I’m not sure where this one comes from – it’s one of those myths that gets past around but when you really think about it it’s ridiculous. Muscle is working tissue which is designed to move your body around, fat is stored energy – it’s as simple as that. The reason people put on fat when they stop training is because the loss of muscle tissue will cause a drop in metabolism, and if your still consuming the same amount of calories where else are the calories meant to go?

Fitness Myth #5 – Spot reducing.
Spot reducing means targeting a specific body part or muscle with an exercise to reduce fat in those areas. I’m always getting asked which ab exercise is best for losing that bit of extra weight around the mid-section. Unfortunately the body doesn’t work this way, when you begin losing weight you are unable to determine which area your body will lose fat. For example doing lots of sit-ups will not reduce fat around the mid-section, it will only strengthen and tone the abs.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 2 of… The 10 Biggest Fitness Myths!

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Personal Trainer Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney

                        

Here is this weeks Boot camp workout of the week…

Partner Workouts
Split camps into pairs, depending on size of group set out a 6-10 station circuit. Spend 60 seconds on each station, 15 seconds rest between exercises.
1. Partner Med-ball Push ups
2. Partner Med-ball Sit ups
3. Partner Squat and Med-ball Pass
4. Partner Sandbag Pass
5. Partner Kettlebell Sprints
6. Plank
7. Kettlebell Swings
8. Partner Russian Twists

10 minutes of hill sprints

Running Drill
1. Sprint to 1st cone
2. Side shuffle to 2nd cone
3. Side shuffle other side to 3rd cone
4. Back peddle to 4th cone
5. Sprint back

Till next week.

Enjoy

Dan Clay
Personal Trainer Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney

                        

Exercise 1
We split the camp into groups of 4-5 people. Set up 5 exercise stations 50 meters apart. 1 minute of work at each station, then everyone had 15 seconds to get to the next station. We completed 3 sets with a 90 second rest between.

On the run
Station 1. Ring Rows >> Jog
Station 2. KB Push up, Squat, Press >> Jog
Station 3. Squat and Squat Thrust >> Jog
Station 4. Lunge and Chest Press >> Jog
Station 5. Med-ball chop >> Jog

Partner Sprints
We split campers into pairs(similar fitness level). Partners face each other 60 meters apart and race each other to opposite end. Complete 10 sprints with a 30 second rest between reps. We completed 2 sets.

Till next week.

Enjoy

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Dangerously Fit Personal Training

                        

If so use these guidelines as a blueprint for your strength training program.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding as to how beginners should begin their strength training program.

For some reason most people begin strength training using machines then progress on to free weights when they have ‘mastered’ machine weights. There is no need to ‘master machines’ because they take no learning – anyone can push a fixed weight up and down.

The reason we start beginners with a break in program is to prepare your stabilizing muscles for free weights. Your body needs to learn how to control, stabilize and then move your own body before lifting external weights.

Always train with your bodyweight first, (i.e. push up’s, bodyweight squats) before adding any type of external weight! (The only exception to this rule is if you have poor strength to bodyweight ratio).

A beginner will increase strength much faster than a seasoned lifter, use total body workouts or upper/lower body splits (training the upper lower body on separate days) There is no need to “blitz” individual muscles using bodybuilding routines (unless you’re a bodybuilder training 6 days a week and using a concoction of performance enhancing drugs).

Always perform large multi-joint exercises, which are exercise’s that use multiple muscles at one time.

Begin your strength training program with a ‘break in program’ using high reps (12-15) to prepare the muscles and tendons for the following programs which will increase in intensity. A beginner usually does not need to use any more than 2 sets per exercise, there’s no need to do anymore as your body has made very few adaptation’s to exercise.

Train movement patterns instead of body-parts and incorporate functional exercises into your strength training routine where you;

Push
Pull
Twist
Bend
Lunge
Squat

Don’t try to lift too heavy too soon and give your body at least 48 hrs recovery between workouts to let your body recover and adapt to the load your placing it under. Make sure you eat a meal high in carbohydrates 3 hours before your workout and be sure to consume a mixture of both carbs and protein within 15mins of finishing your workout. Eat a well balanced diet with plenty of fruits, veg’s and wholefoods and get plenty of rest.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them below.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Personal Trainer Sydney

                        

If you missed part 1 you can view it here… Fat Loss Tips

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

Fitness tip # 6 – Calorie deficit. Through proper diet and regular exercise create a calorie deficit. This simply means burning more calories than you’re consuming. Keep a journal and get a calorie counter, you can record your diet for free at www.fitday.com. How are you supposed to know how many calories you’re putting into your body if you’re not keeping track of what you’re eating and drinking? By creating a calorie deficit you’ll be using energy from your energy stores (body fat). The trick is not to create a calorie deficit that’s too high or your body will think its starving and will begin too slow your metabolism down, your focus should be on losing fat, not necessarily weight. A too high calorie deficit can also cause a reduction in lean muscle mass making it harder for you to lose weight.

Fitness tip # 7 – Weight training. Muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive. Therefore increasing muscle mass will elevate your metabolism at rest, you’ll burn more calories sitting behind your desk and whilst you’re asleep, you will also burn a considerable more amount of energy whilst you’re exercising through greater energy demand from the increase in lean muscle. Perform exercises that will give you the biggest return, compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, pushing and pulling exercises and use a variety of combination lifts and circuits. Use drop sets and superset’s and keep the rest period in between exercises to a minimum.

Fitness tip # 8 – Consume more protein. Eating protein will keep you fuller for longer, meaning you’ll consume less overall calories in a day. Eating protein also makes your digestive system work twice as hard as eating carbohydrates and fat, so by eating more protein you’ll be burning more calories through digestion (this is known as the thermic effect). One of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting is that they lose muscle as well as fat, which will in turn slow down their metabolism. By eating plenty of protein and following a suitable weights program this will ensure you maintain your muscle tissue. If you have trouble consuming adequate amounts of protein, try supplementing with a ‘whole food based’ protein drink.

Fitness tip # 9 – Interval Training. Interval training is the #1 cardiovascular exercise for weight loss. It includes high intensity exercise (for10-60 seconds) broken up with periods of low intensity exercise. The good thing with interval training is that you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. So there’s no need to spend hrs pounding away on a treadmill, you can be done in 20-25 mins and that’s including your warm up and cool down! This form of training will keep your metabolism elevated for up to 24 hrs after you’ve finished training, through E.P.O.C (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), so you’ll be burning calories even while you’re sleeping.

Fitness tip # 10 – Include a cheat day once a week! Keep your body guessing and have a cheat day once a week. This will stop your body from hitting a plateau and stop your metabolism from slowing down. A cheat day is a good time to eat the foods you’ve been craving throughout the week. No-one can eat perfectly 100% of the time without cracking, so hold off any foods that aren’t in your nutrition plan until this day. Having a cheat day will allow you to be good for the other 6 day’s of the week, (just don’t go too mad)!

Be sure to check back in a few days for part 3 of this mini series.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Sydney Personal Training
Sydney Fitness Boot Camps
Sydney Corporate Fitness

                        

I’ll try and keep this simple, the best exercises for increasing muscle are also the best exercises for losing fat. All these exercises have one thing in common: they work many muscles at once and are very challenging to the body.

Scientific research and real world experience shows that total body workouts are the most effective form of training for fat loss and muscle gain. But lets go one step further…

Your results can be substantially increased by using total body exercises within a total body workout! For example, squats are one of the best exercises for building lean muscle whilst shedding unwanted fat.

So what if we took the squat and combined it with an upper body movement like a shoulder press. Now this exercise becomes unstoppable for getting you the great results. Its plain to see that by incorporating your upper and lower body into one movement youll reap even greater rewards.

Heres The Fantasy Body Equation:

more muscles worked = more calories burned + more lean muscle = more fat loss + more muscle gained

To be totally honest I have a big love hate relationship with the exercise Im about to show you. Firstly I love them because of their ability to burn unparalleled amounts of fat and secondly for their muscle building properties that keep me in great shape. On the other hand I hate them because they break me every workout (but in a good way), be warned these exercises are not for the weak minded.

So without delay, let me present my top 7 exercises for shedding fat and building lean muscle.

1. Olympic Lifts: Dumbbell or Kettlebell Cleans, Snatches, High Pulls or a combination of all.

2. Wood Chopping exercises: Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Med Balls, Bands, or Sandbags

4. Press Up Combination Exercises: Press ups with knee raise, Push up with Row, Push up with burpee etc..

6. Med Ball Snatch with Slam Combination

7. Squat combination exercises: Squat and press, Squat and row, Squat and curl etc.

If you incorporate these exercises into your workouts I guarantee you’ll see better results faster.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney
Corporate Personal Training Sydney

                        

Missing workouts and losing the lean muscle mass you worked so hard to develop is a big mistake.

The reason…

Less lean muscle equals lower metabolism, muscle accounts for the bulk of your daily calorie burning (between 65-75%).

This means that you’ll be burning less and less calories 24/7 putting you in grave danger of piling on unwanted body fat through the holiday season.

It gets worse…

The loss of strength will mean your training has regressed – a rude awakening on your first day back to training.

But…

There are a few clever strategies you can use to maintain or even increase the number of calories you burn everyday.

Use the strategies below to avoid stacking on the holiday kilos…

1. Reach Your Totals. Your body cannot differentiate between 100 squats all at once versus 100 squats performed in a day. If you honestly can’t fit in a 10-20 minute workout during the day, look for little chunks of time where you can get in a certain number of reps a day that will work your entire body.

Got a spare few minutes before the turkey has to come out of the oven, then crank out 12 press ups, 12 bodyweight rows and 15 squats. Using this system will soon add up to large number of reps by the end of the day that will burn just as many calories as if you did all the exercises at once.

Its important to recognize that this system should only be used as a backup to performing your usual exercise routine of total body workouts and interval training which are scientifically proven to burn 9 times as much fat as traditional exercise (click here for fat burning workout).

High intensity exercise and short rest periods provide the body with the best hormonal environment for muscle gain and quick fat loss.

Be sure to choose large compound exercises that work as many of your bodies major muscles in the shortest amount of time i.e press ups, chin ups, bodwight rows, squats, lunges etc.

Use the routines below to “reach your totals”, adjust the rep range according to your current level of fitness.

There’s no need for any fancy pieces of equipment, just use your bodyweight and if you have them dumbbells or barbells.

Perform the program every other day ensuring you rotate between routine 1 and routine 2, you can either reach your totals by performing one exercise at a time i.e 100 squats (with rest breaks until you reach your total) or by performing the exercises as a circuit i.e 20 press ups, 20 bodyweight rows and repeat 5 times throughout the day until you reach your total.

Reach Your Totals Holiday Program

Routine A

Press ups: 50-100 total
Body weight Squats or reverse lunges: 100-200 total
Bodyweight Rows: 50-100 total

Routines B

Walking Lunges or Hip Extensions: 100 total
Bodyweight Dips: 50-100 total
Dumbbell or Barbell rows

2. Be More Active. Technology has made us a lazy and overweight society, during these holidays be more active. If you need to go to the shops and it’s 15-20 minute walk then leave the car at home, take the stairs instead on the escalators and elevators. All these small steps add up to burning more calories at the end of the day.

3. Perform a minimum of one strength training session per week. Studies show that by performing just one strength session per week you can maintain your current level of lean muscle mass. So to be certain of maintaining your muscle mass perform at least one intense strength workout per week to avoid the dreaded regressions in fitness levels. For optimum results try to perform 3-4 total body workouts per week with interval training.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney
Corporate Personal Training Sydney