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

                        

Here’s the workout

Split campers into pairs, 1 person performs the strength exercise, the other person will sprint to a cone 50 meters away and back. 90 seconds per station, 15 seconds rest then move to the next station.

Exercise 1 – Centennial Park Personal Trainer Combo:
1. Kettlebell Swings
2. Medball crunch
3. Push ups
4. Slam ball
5. Squat jumps
6. Kettlebell Swings
7. Medball crunch
8. Push ups
9. Slam ball
10. Squat jumps

Exercise 2 – Strongman sprints
Split camper into pairs, mark out 5 cones 15 meters apart. 1st person squats down and picks up the kettlebell then runs to first cone and puts the kettlebell down then sprints back and tags partner. 2nd person then repeats, continue until you have reached the 5th cone and then start making your way back until your back at the 1st cone.

Enjoy

Dan Clay
Group Personal Training Centennial Park

                        

Camp split 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.

Exercise 1:
1. Push ups
2. Crunches
3. Squats
4. Skipping
5. Inverted Row
6. Reverse lunges
7. Plank
8. T shuffle

Exercise 2:
Set out 4 cones 10 meters apart. Split camp into pairs.

1st person sprints back and forth to 1st cone twice, then rests and partner repeats.

1st person sprints back and forth to 2nd cone twice, then rests and partner repeats.

1st person sprints back and forth to 3rd cone twice, then rests and partner repeats.

1st person sprints back and forth to 4th cone twice, then rests and partner repeats.

Rest for 90 seconds – then repeat.

Enjoy

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

                        

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

                        

This workout was especially tough as it was 35 degrees with very high humidity, every set was a battle and by the end of the workout I felt like I’d gone 10 rounds with Lennox Lewis.

Nevertheless it was a fun workout, I enjoy the Saturday training session more than any other because I love training outdoors and I get to play with many of the training tools I use with my boot camp clients.

The training session was a total body workout working all the major movement patterns using the following tools;

Tornado ball
Olympic rings
Kettlebells

Movement patterns…

1.Vertical pull – Chin ups
2.Core rotation – Tornado ball Russian twist
3.Horizontal pull – Kettlebell high pulls
4.Quad dominant – Squat jumps
5.Core stabilization – Olympic ring planche
6.Hip dominant – Kettlebell alternating swings
7.Vertical push – Hand stand push ups
8.Horizontal push – Olympic ring fly’s

2 sets of each exercise – 10 to 12 reps per exercise with a 45 second rest between sets.

Some of these exercises are advanced and not for beginners so exercise with caution.

Let me know how you go.

Enjoy!

Dan Clay
Outdoor Personal Training
Personal Trainers Sydney
Boot Camp Sydney
Corporate Personal Training Sydney

                        

A few years ago back when I was working in the gym I’d never heard of sandbag strength training.

It sounded something they’d do in strong man contest, I didn’t think I’d be able to use sandbags with my clients.

However when I left there to start up my outdoor personal training company I was searching the internet for ways I could still challenge my clients but without using barbells and dumbbells.

I didn’t fancy using resistance bands, I’ve never been a big fan of the type of bands you see in commercial sport stores, they may be O.K for your grandma but personally I think if your young fit and able you can lift proper weights.

The 1st day my sandbags arrived I headed off to the builders wholesalers and bought 2 x 20kg bags of sand and went to the park to fill em up and have play with some basic lifts.

I figured 40 kg would be conservative as I usually lift heavier in the gym.

But…

As soon as I threw the sand bag up for a clean it came down on my chest like a ton of bricks, lifting a 40kg sandbag feels totally different to a 40 kg barbell!

After a few reps my forearms were beginning to throb then after a few more reps my heart was pounding, I knew I was gonna be in for tough workout.

To be honest after a 30 minute total body workout I was totally exhausted, this type of training hit me in a totally different way than I was used to in the gym.

The workout…

Sandbag clean and press x 8
Sandbag zercher squat x 8
Hanging knee raise x 8
Push up sandbag row x 8
Sandbag Turkish get ups x 8
Sandbag reverse lunges x 8

Perform exercises in a circuit and repeat for 2 sets, rest 30 seconds between exercises.

Like kettlebells sandbags are great for challenging both strength and endurance simultaneously and because the bag is unstable and moves around your body has to use more muscles to control it.

Sandbags are excellent for outdoor or in home training and compared to dumbbells and barbells they’re cheap.

I’m not saying sandbags should replace dumbbells or barbells but I’d definitely recommend adding a sandbag to your arsenal of tools.

Click here to check em out….. Sandbag Strength Training

Train Hard!

Dan Clay

Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Training Sydney
Boot Camp Fitness Sydney
Corporate Fitness Sydney

                        

Do this workout at least once a week this is your homework for the next 6 weeks, weekends are always a good time to fit a quick workout in – all up it should only take you about 45 minutes.

Warm up

High knee running
High hill running
Lateral running
Back peddle
3/4 sprint
Shoulder circles

Strength

Rest 15 seconds between exercises.

2 x 10 Squats
2 x 10 Press Up’s
2 x 10 Plank
2 x 10 Reverse Lunge (each leg)
2 x 10 Ab Crunches
2 x 10 Inverted rows

Cardio

Sprint for 10 seconds (fast as possible).
Rest for 20 seconds (slow walk).

Repeat this 10 times.

Rest for 90 seconds (slow walk).

Sprint for 10 seconds (fast as possible).
Rest for 20 seconds (slow walk).

Repeat this 10 times.

Warm down and stretch

Let me know how you get on, if you have any questions regarding the workout please post them below.

Train hard!

Dan.

Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Training Sydney
Boot Camp Fitness Sydney

                        

Now that I’m back in Sydney we’re kicking off with two new boot camps to trim up before the Xmas holiday season.

The camps will run for 6 weeks and will be held at Rushcutters Bay and Queens Park (Centennial Parklands) starting next week, please click here for more info…

Boot Camp Fitness Sydney

6 weeks is a long time to be away and I definitely missed my surfing and kettlebell workouts, luckily I took my Olympic rings away with me so I managed to get some pretty good workouts in even when there were no gyms around.

I also trained with my brother in Spain for a few days, without having access to a gym for 5 weeks and only performing bodyweight leg exercises I think I may have overdone it on the squats.

There was no way I was going to get outdone by my brother and soon as I began training the competitiveness in me took over and the *10% rule (10% rule means you should only lift 10% more than in the previous week) went out the window.

Subsequently I could barely walk for 3 days, walking upstairs was painful and getting in and out of cars was nearly impossible, even after years of hard training it’s amazing how quickly the body can lose it.

Anyway I had my first kettlebell workout this morning since I got back to Sydney and even though it was tough it felt great to blow off the cobwebs and get back into some serious training.

There’s a different kind of mental toughness when training with Kettlbells where you really need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and dig in.

Here is the workout I performed …

Warm – up
10 x bodyweight squats
10 x Olympic ring face pulls
10 x push ups
10 x KB swings (with a light weight)

Workout
2 x 12 KB clean and press
2 x 12 Wide grip Olympic ring chin ups
2 x 12 KB Russian twist
2 x 12 KB Front squats
2 x 12 KB single leg deadlift
2 x 120 second plank

Rest 45 seconds between exercises.

Warm down and stretch

Let me know how you get on.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Personal Training Sydney
Boot Camp Fitness Sydney

P.S If you would like to learn more about Kettlebells we use them for personal training and in our boot camps, you can call me directly on 0422 936 963 or contact me through my website www.personaltrainersydney.com

                        

In the gym last week I watched a guy lifting weights whilst standing on a swiss ball for his entire workout.

Unless he was looking to improve his skateboarding skills (which I doubt) there really is no point spending an entire workout balancing.

Don’t get caught up in the fads, for the average person training on your feet with free weights is a much more functional way to train.

95% of people have one goal – to look better naked, spending an hour balancing on a ball isn’t gonna make that happen.

Unless your No.1 goal is to get better at balancing leave this form of training to the circus acts. Balance training is not the most effective way to make you lose weight, tone up or get stronger.

If you want to change your body you have to force it to change, whether you would like lose unwanted weight or increase the size of your muscles you need to lift a heavy enough to force your muscles to adapt – which will in turn make your muscles become leaner and stronger.

If you are standing on 1 leg or trying to balance on something there’s no way you can lift enough weight for this to happen.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying balance training doesn’t have it’s place, but the majority of balance training should be focusing on working the core. The total time spent swiss/bosu ball should only be a small percentage of your entire workout.

Stick with the basics, Always perform large compound exercises, which are exercise’s that use multiple muscles at one time, use free weights standing up and train movement patterns instead of body-parts.
Incorporate everyday movements into you strength training routine where you;

Bend
Lunge
Squat
Push
Pull
Twist

You’ll get significantly better results in a much shorter amount of time!

Train Hard!

Dan Clay

www.dangerouslyfitpersonaltraining.com
www.personaltrainersydney.com