Here’s a complete guide to the kettlebell around the world, from how to master to the movement to the whole world of movement it can unlock for you.

What Is The Kettlebell Around The World?

The kettlebell around the world, also called a hip halo by some coaches, has you moving a kettlebell around your body in a circular pattern, switching from one hand to the next. You’re allowed to use momentum so that the kettlebell flows smoothly through the transitions, but you have to control it—the weight can’t touch any part of your body (aside from your hands).

Here’s how to do it.

(See 01:02 in the video.)

Step 1. Stand very tall holding a light kettlebell (about 4–7 kilos/8–16 pounds) in one hand. Hold the bell at the far edge of the handle so you leave space for the other hand to grasp it easily. Retract your neck and tuck your chin, draw your shoulders back so your chest is proud, and tuck your tailbone under slightly so that your pelvis is level with the floor. You should feel like your posture is perfect. Now brace your core and hold this position throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Set the kettlebell in motion around your body (either direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise, is fine). When the kettlebell is directly in front of your body, switch it over to the other hand, and when it comes around directly behind your body, switch back. Move fast enough that you get some momentum going, but don’t try to rush it—set a steady rhythm.

Keep your arms straight the whole time. “Allowing bend in the elbows will cause your arms to get tired,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education.

It’s important to maintain your posture and balance throughout the movement. As you get more experienced and graduate to bigger kettlebells, this will become more challenging, so focus on staying tall and braced from the very beginning. Heins suggests placing a small box or other object between your feet and squeezing it in order to train you to keep your thighs tense—this will help you maintain stability.

You can perform the around the world for reps or time (for example, 30 seconds straight), but make sure you work it in both directions. So if you do 5 reps clockwise, immediately follow up with 5 reps counter-clockwise, so you build balanced strength.

Around The World Kettlebell Benefits

That circular motion accomplishes much more than meets the eye, and you’ll feel it all as soon as you start doing the movement (correctly, that is). Controlling the kettlebell’s path and momentum while keeping good posture trains the core and a bunch of other stabilizer muscles hard. (What else is going to keep you from bending or twisting as the weight travels away from your center of gravity?) Your wrist and forearm muscles have to clench the handle to prevent the weight from slipping away, so the around the world works your grip strength too.

On top of that, the centrifugal force you generate with the around the world creates a pulling effect that tractions out the shoulders, elbows and wrists. This really feels great, especially if you have years of heavy, joint-compressive lifting under your belt, and can arguably help to prevent injury and speed recovery from other strength-training workouts. Decompressive weight training, Heins says, is often overlooked and very valuable: controlling a weight as it pulls on your joints strengthens them, just as lifting a weight that compresses your joints does.

If you have athletic ambitions, or just want to get good at more advanced kettlebell training, the around the world should be a staple in your programs, as it works eye-hand coordination and balance. Over time, you’ll develop a better sense of where the kettlebell is in space around you, and you’ll be able to make the hand offs quicker and more smoothly.

Sophisticated kettlebell routines require you to change direction quickly and express strength in all the different planes of motion. Kettlebell flows, where you transition from one exercise to another, such as a clean to a squat and then rotational press, are an example of this. The kettlebell around the world lays the groundwork for this level of skill, helping you get comfortable with moving a weight 360 degrees around your body. You’ll have a hard time getting the hang of cleans, snatches, and twisting motions without mastering the around the world as a pre-req.

What Muscles Do Kettlebell Around The Worlds Use?

To list them all would take more words than we have the patience to write (and, presumably, more than you’d have the patience to read), but take our word that the deltoids, core (rectus abdominis, olbiques, transversus abdominis), wrist flexors and extensors, spinal erectors, quads, glutes, and various muscles in the hips on down will be engaged in every revolution of the around the world.

What Weight Kettlebell Should I Use?

When you’re starting out with the around the world, go light to get the form down. A 3–7 kilogram bell (8–16 pounds) is perfect. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can still get a lot out of light weight, but you’re also welcome to increase the load if you want to make the exercise more of a core and grip workout. A 24–28 kilo bell (53–62 pounds) will be very challenging.

The around the world can serve many different functions and fit into your workouts in several ways. You can use a light bell in your warmup to jumpstart your core and hips, activating those muscles for better firing during the heavier or more explosive training to come. You can also add the around the world to a mix of other exercises for a battery that zeroes in on the core—do this at the end of a session for some extra work, or on an “off” day. The around the world can also be done between sets of kettlebell or conventional strength exercises for some active recovery. Think: you’re giving your muscles and nervous system a rest, but you’re still doing a little work to burn more calories, keep your heart rate up and build some conditioning, and stay warm. Heins particularly likes the around the world between sets of overhead pressing, as it will decompress your shoulders and elbows, and single-leg work.

Light around the worlds should be done for 3 sets of 20 reps, or 30 seconds in each direction, while a heavier bell can be used for 5 sets of 4–6 reps each direction.

How To Stretch Before Exercising?

Use the following mobility sequence from Heins (demonstrated in the video below) to prepare your hips for the around the world, or any other lower-body focused workout you have planned. Perform the movements as a circuit, completing one set for each in sequence and then repeating for 2–3 total rounds.

1. Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch, 12 reps per side

2. Standing Knee Circle, 5 reps each direction, each leg

3. Spit-Stance Hip Coil (no weight), 12 reps each side

4. Ankle Spring Primer, 5 reps each side

BONUS: Thai Chi Knee Twist, 60 seconds each direction

Kettlebell Exercise Alternatives

You’ll be able to better see how the around the world translates to fancier kettlebell movements and sports when you move on to its progressions. As soon as you have the basic around the world down, try one of these variants.

Around The World With Hand Catch

(See 01:56 in the Kettlebell Around the World video)

This move takes the rotation from your hips up to your shoulders, making it a great exercise for full-body power. It mimics the mechanics of throwing a punch or a shotput, training you to coil through your core and stabilize your body with your hips.

Step 1. Perform the around the world as normal to get some momentum. Then, when you’re ready, bend your working arm to lift the kettlebell up to your opposite shoulder.

Step 2. Catch the bell with your free hand, bracing your core so you absorb the force. If you’re using a bigger kettlebell, you may have to allow your torso to rotate a bit in order to slow the kettlebell down on the catch—that’s OK, as this is how you move in real life. Now redirect the force by gently pushing the kettlebell back down and circling your body in the opposite direction.

Once you’ve got the hang of that, you can alternate catches on each rep. That is, circle your body clockwise and catch with the right hand, and then immediately circle counter-clockwise and catch with the left.

Step-Back Hip Coil

(See 03:38 in the video)

If you watched the video on how to warm up above, you recognize this exercise already. Here, it’s done with the kettlebell for strength and power (where as, done unloaded, it’s just a really great mobility drill). The step-back hip coil progression keeps the movement of the around the world at your hips but really allows you to practice transferring power between legs. It looks like a speed skater pushing off from one leg on the ice, loading up for a puck pass in hockey, or any number of other movements that require lower-body power.

Step 1. Perform the around the world as normal. Let’s say you’re moving counter-clockwise with the kettlebell in your right hand. As you transition the bell to your left hand, step back with your right leg and create a long line from your leg through your spine to the top of your head as you bend slightly at the hips (you can keep your heel elevated and only touch down with the ball of your foot). This will help you decelerate the kettlebell. Make sure your lower back stays neutral and does not round forward as you bend at the hips.

Step 2. Step forward again as you reverse the direction of the kettlebell and repeat on the other side. As with the around the world with hand catch, you can take your time doing a few revolutions with the bell before you coil on the other side.

Heins notes that the step-back hip coil works your hip in internal rotation, which is an oft-neglected movement pattern and very important for overall hip and lower-back health. An inability to move your hip well internally can cause the lower back to take over some movements, and that can lead to pain, so the step-back hip coil doubles as a prehab exercise.

See the kettlebell around the world in action in our Full-Body Kettlebell Workout for Beginners.

The post The Kettlebell Around The World Exercise Explained appeared first on Onnit Academy.

(P.S.: If you really are drinking a six-pack nightly, you won’t see definition in your abs no matter what workout you do. You need to cut calories and sugar from your diet to lose body fat… and maybe seek counseling?)

Bodyweight Ab Burner

Leija says you can do this routine at the start of a workout for other muscle groups (if you want to prioritize your abs), at the end of a workout (as a high-intensity finisher), or on a separate day entirely. All you need is some floor space. It takes six minutes (or less) to complete.

Directions: Set a timer for 6 minutes and start the clock the moment you begin the first exercise. Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence. Perform the first exercise for 30 seconds total, and then do the others for 20 seconds each. Do not rest between exercises, and rest as little as possible after the last one. Repeat for 3 total rounds, or until the 6 minutes are up.

1 Straight-Arm Plank/Knees to Elbows/Mountain Climber

Reps: Work for 30 sec.

Step 1. Get into pushup position with your hands shoulder-width apart and legs extended behind you. Tuck your pelvis slightly so it’s perpendicular to your spine, and brace your core. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your feet. Hold the position 10 seconds.

Step 2. Raise one knee at a time out 45 degrees and up to your elbow. Take it back, maintaining your tight core, and keep your hips and shoulders square to the floor. Continue for 10 seconds.

Step 3. Finally, perform mountain climbers, alternating knees straight up to your chest and back. Go for 10 seconds.

2 Full Situp

Reps: Work for 20 sec.

Step 1. Lie on your back on the floor with your feet flat and knees bent 90 degrees. Raise your arms behind your head.

Step 2. Sit up all the way and hug your knees at the top.

3 Bicycle Crunch

Reps: Work for 20 sec.

Step 1. Lie on your back and place your hands at the sides of your head. Extend one leg in front of you and tuck the other near your chest.

Step 2. Twist your shoulders, bending the straight leg and extending the tucked leg until your opposite elbow and knee touch. Alternate sides; it should look as if you’re pedaling a bicycle.

4 Russian Twist

Reps: Work for 20 sec.

Step 1. Sit on the floor and extend your legs in front of you with a slight bend in your knees. Raise your feet off the floor to put tension on your abs.

Step 2. Twist your torso side to side, touching the floor next to your hip with both hands.

5 Hollow-Body Hold

Reps: Work for 20 sec.

Step 1. Lie on your back and raise your arms overhead. Tuck your pelvis so that your lower back flattens into the floor. Brace your core.

Step 2. Extend your legs, and raise them off the floor. Hold the position with arms and legs straight, maintaining your flat back position.

Medicine-Ball Ab Workout

A medicine ball allows you to add weight to your ab training in a form that’s easier to grip and handle than a dumbbell or weight plate. It also allows you to train the core for power, as in the rotational slam exercise, where you twist your torso and throw the ball into the floor. This kind of training prepares your core to produce and absorb force the way it needs to when you’re playing sports.

Directions: Do this workout at the start of one of your regular sessions—it should take no more than 6 minutes to complete. Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set of each in sequence. Perform 10 reps for each movement. Do not rest between exercises, and then rest 30–60 seconds after the last one. Repeat for 2 total rounds.

1 Med-Ball Butterfly Situp

Step 1. Hold a medicine ball with both hands overhead, and lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet together.

Step 2. Sit up all the way, bringing the ball down in front of your chest and touching your toes with it.

2 Med-Ball Leg Lift

Step 1. Lie on your back and hold the ball overhead. Extend your legs in front of you.

Step 2. Raise your legs up and your hips off the floor while using the ball as a counterbalance. Flex your abs at the top.

3 Table-Top Medicine-Ball Retrieve

Step 1. Lie on your back and hold the ball overhead. Raise your legs 90 degrees and then bend your knees to 90. Flatten your lower back into the floor and brace your core.

Step 2. Sit up and pull the ball from overhead to in front of your chest. Place the ball on the shelf provided by your shins, and lower your torso back down.

Step 3. Sit up again, and retrieve the ball from your legs, lowering back down again. Each situp is one rep.

4 Rotational Slam

Step 1. Kneel on the floor and hold the ball in front of your chest. Tuck your pelvis so it’s parallel to the floor, and brace your core.

Step 2. Raise the ball overhead and rotate to one side. Slam the ball into the floor and catch it on the rebound. Twist to the other side and repeat. Each slam is one rep. Perform 5 reps on each side (10 total).

The post At-Home Abs: Get A Six-Pack in Your Living Room appeared first on Onnit Academy.

As a dancer and Pilates instructor, core training can literally feel like the center of my universe. I’ve always been taught and consistently teach the idea of drawing awareness to the deeper set of abdominals (the transversus abdominis) when performing exercises.

Whether I’m training a client or working on my own regimen, I take the time to draw awareness inward and engage the deeper set of abdominals before moving through the circuit. It’s not only a more efficient and safer way to move, but it also strengthens, enhances, and sharpens your kinesthetic awareness. It keeps you centered and in the moment.

And there is no better weighted tool than a Steel Club to keep you in the moment! Be it a Steel Club swing or Steel Club press, we are in a position to learn how the body can best support this remarkable tool – the club. How we coordinate technique, breath, strength and flow depends highly on our approach to this one-of-a-kind weight.

The beauty and effectiveness of working with Steel Clubs lies in their design. It’s that disproportionate/uneven weight distribution that requires us to turn our attention inward, to focus on technique and to rely on the depth of what we need to connect to for each and every rep.

When we combine a deep understanding of core engagement and challenging exercises with a Steel Club, what we have is an extremely well balanced relationship. The uneven weight of the Steel Club forces us to take a “physical inventory” of how best to maintain structure and move effectively.

If we learn how to cultivate this connection, we are less likely to rely solely on using the superficial muscles to maintain structure. We’re given a shot at developing a stronger, more balanced body, one with a solid connection to movement. So let’s couple the Steel Club and the keen awareness required to maintain structure with a crushing, core-based circuit that requires us to dig deep.

Now that’s my idea of a unique, challenging, and smart core workout! There are so many invaluable Steel Club exercises for core strength, but I’ve chosen the following since they require me to place more emphasis on engaging the deeper transversus. Here are four of my favorite Steel Club exercises for strength:

Top 4 Steel Club Exercises for Core Strength

Core Exercise #1: Swings

The swing starts from a position that looks similar to a squat with a torso pitch forward (the silverback gorilla stance). With your position now properly established, pitch forward at the waist while keeping the chest lifted— remember to keep the shoulders packed and to maintain crown to coccyx alignment.

Begin to swing the Steel Clubs to the back position. The Steel Club should swing backward to about a foot behind the heels. The knees stay bent when swinging to the back position. As you swing forward, engage the transversus (drive energy through the soles of the feet), press the hips forward to a standing position, and swing the Steel Clubs to shoulder height. It’s that forward swing or top position where the money’s at!

It’s an explosive exercise. So the swing from back to front is the point when you dig deep to engage the core. Find your swing—your momentum! Try this exercise as part of your Steel Club circuit using one of the timed intervals below.

60 sec/15 sec break OR 45 sec/10 sec break

Core Exercise #2: Floating Squat with Steel Club Extension

Use the 5lb Steel Club

Start by finding a stable bench. Sit on the edge of the bench, holding one 5lb Steel Club with the right hand. The left arm/hand is going to support your bodyweight as you shift forward. Glutes no longer touch the edge of the bench. The fingertips of the supporting hand (right) face forward and the arm remains straight.

Keep the hips square to the front and avoid driving the hips forward. You should be able to draw a straight line from the tailbone all the way up to the crown of the head. Pull the lower abdomen in to support the structure.

As you float and engage the core, hold the Steel Club so that the elbow is drawn into the side and the arm is shaped like an “L”. Pack the shoulders down and exhale as you extend the Club to a forward press. You can choose to perform this exercise as a static Club extension, or you can press the Steel Club forward and back. Try this exercise as part of your Club circuit using a timed interval.

60 sec/15 sec break OR  45 sec/10 sec break

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Keep the hips and shoulders square to the front.
• Keep the hips back (or towards the bench) by pulling in the lower abs. Keep the knees directly under your ankles.
• Shoulders are packed.
• Press through into the soles of the feet for extra support.
• Don’t hunch!

Core Exercise #3: Bicycle with Oblique Steel Club Dips

Use the 5lb Steel Club or 10lb Steel Club

Start lying down, with the Steel Club at your side. As you pick up the Steel Club, hold the side closest to the knob with the right hand (left hand gets the larger end). Knuckles should be pointing up. Keep the arms bent and hold the Club above the navel. Bring the legs to a “table top” position. Draw the left elbow towards the ribcage as you extend the right leg.

At this point, the shoulders should be off the floor and the navel pulled in and up as you alternate legs. The side-to-side Steel Club dips offer great oblique activation as you move the Steel Club from a horizontal plane (center) to a vertical plane (side to side).

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Engage the transversus.
• Keep the shape of the Steel Club exercise consistent as you move. It’s easy to get sloppy on this one!
• Keep the knuckles pointed up. Avoid bending the wrists back.
• Try this exercise as part of your Steel Club circuit using a timed interval.

60 sec/15 sec break OR 45 sec/10 sec break

Core Exercise #4: Sit-up to V-sit with Forward Steel Club Press

Use the 10 or 15lb Steel Club

Take a deep breath because I saved the best for last! There is no hiding from this one. Not only does it challenge the core, but the delts have a little fun too! This exercise really captures the gist of what I wrote of earlier—digging deep to discover how best to support the framework of the exercise.

Begin lying down on a mat with your Steel Club. The Steel Club should be positioned behind your head with the left hand near the knob and the right hand towards the center. Before beginning the exercise you might want to try a back and forth spinal rock to get a feel for the movement. Just remember not to roll past the middle of the back.

Take a deep breath in to prepare. As you exhale, pull the lower belly in, drawing the elbows in to the sides as you peel the spine off the mat to the top of a sit-up position. Once you are up, extend the Steel Club forward. Each time that you extend, be sure to “wring out” the Steel Club so that your elbow pits are facing upward. Slowly, take each foot off the mat to create a “V” shape. Drop your shoulders down, lift through the chest, and squeeze the lower abs in. Hold for 4 counts.

Slowly draw the arms in (elbows into the sides). Roll back one vertebrae at a time (for 4 counts).

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Keep the shoulders packed throughout the exercise.
• Use your exhale! As you come to your “V” sit, use the breath to hold the position.
• Pull the lower abs in and up.
• Roll through this exercise slowly. The abs like it that way!
• Don’t hunch as you come to the full “V” sit! Shoulders down, lower core pulled in, chest lifts slightly.

The post The Top 4 Steel Club Exercises for Core Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.

You’re ready to expose that ripped body you’ve been working tirelessly in the gym to achieve since January 1. And by now, meal prepping every week has become second nature. The beach is calling your name, and you can’t wait to reveal the sixpack hiding under your shirt.

Sound familiar? No? That’s because it’s likely that none of this is true. Somehow swimsuit season creeps up on us every year. Suddenly, you’re invited on the boat for Memorial Day, and you jump on some extreme calorie-restricted diet for one week hoping that it will magically shed those extra 20 pounds you’ve been carrying around.

Bad news: That’s not going to work.

But it’s OK. It’s almost Memorial Day. And the official start of summer is right around the corner.

If you didn’t get the hint…This is it. Time to get serious. Even if you’re killing it in the gym, you will never see a defined midsection until you get your diet in check. It’s a hassle. You don’t have time to plan…or cook…or think about it. Period.

Good news: We removed the guesswork for you.

Here are 5 reasons why you probably can’t see your abs, and here’s exactly what you’re going to do about it.

Authored By: Jon Celis

Abs are Made in the Kitchen

Abs are totally made in the kitchen! After studying nutrition for four years, I decided to earn a Master’s degree in Holistic Nutrition. With each course that I took, it only further acknowledged that diet is truly the ultimate way to burn fat.

I have learned many fascinating things about diet and how certain foods impact the body, but there’s one key fact I want to point out: Everyone’s biochemistry is different, but nutrition, hormones and physiology will always tell the tale. Essentially you are not just what you eat, you are also what you metabolize.

There isn’t ONE healthy full-proof diet that everyone should eat; however, there are universal dietary principles everyone needs to follow if they want to lose fat and get sixpack abs. Your training can definitely assist in fat loss, but if you are eating Cheetos and drinking beer, don’t expect to look shredded and have any sort of abdominal definition

So what are these universal dietary principles? They are chemical and physiological responses to the type of foods that we eat. Think of the “cause and effect” model, whatever you eat (cause) will result in a specific response (effect).

Here are 5 Physiological Responses:

1.) Carbohydrates and sugar raise your blood sugar.
2.) Excess carbs and sugar that aren’t used for immediate energy (or converted to glycogen) are stored as FAT.
3.) High fructose corn syrup has shown to increase triglycerides (circulating blood fats) causing weight gain and increased FAT.
4.) Insulin is a lipogenic hormone, so it causes you to store FAT.
5.) Protein and dietary fat have no significant impact on raising blood sugar.

*For the record, there are biochemical individualities to consider but nonetheless, these 5 responses are true for everyone.

1. Carbohydrates and Sugar Raise Your Blood Sugar

It’s a fact that carbohydrates raise your blood sugar. These foods include: starches, grains, non-starches, legumes, fruit, refined food and sugars. Excess protein has minimal effect on blood sugar levels as long as adequate insulin is present.

Some of these foods are obviously more aggressive than others, but to put it simply, if you are not seeing your abs, then there is a pretty good chance you are eating a diet that’s raising your blood sugar.

Look at your midsection, then look at your diet. You will see just how well or not you are controlling your blood sugar.

2. Unused Carbs and Sugar are Immediately Stored as FAT

Your body metabolizes carbohydrates and sugar in it’s most simple form, glucose. In short, glucose is stored in two places (1) your liver and (2) your muscles. The storage form of glucose is called glycogen. Unfortunately you only have limited storage space, so any excess metabolized sugar will have nowhere to go. But it’s got to go somewhere, so it gets converted to fat.

This happens because high levels of free glucose in the blood are toxic so your body is actually trying to help you by storing it as fat. However, unlike glycogen, your body will continue to store fat and eventually, it’ll turn into love handles and muffin tops.

3. High fructose corn syrup has shown to increase triglycerides causing weight gain and increased FAT.

It is true that your body can metabolize and handle low doses of HFCS. This however, is only true with high level athletes and not the average mom, dad, or weekend warrior. Elite athletes are at another level in terms of fuel utilization and metabolism. It has been shown that athletes can tolerate some HFCS and, in turn, utilize it as energy, but exercise physiologists can’t really agree on the exact dosage for athletes to use.

However, HFCS has NO nutritional value for your body, so why consume it? HFCS is a manmade toxic substrate that will only get metabolized by the liver as fat. This newly converted fat can fatten up your liver or be stored subcutaneously as body fat. It is found in many processed foods, sport drinks, juices, and energy bars. Avoid it at all costs.

4. Insulin is a Lipogenic Hormone

Insulin is the hormone responsible for stabilizing blood sugar. When you eat any type of carb, insulin is secreted via the pancreas. Insulin’s role is to remove glucose from your bloodstream. Basically, insulin binds to your cell membrane, activates “glucose transporters” within that cell, ultimately allowing glucose to come into the cell.

The more carbs you eat, the more you start to desensitize your cells and your cells get worse at hearing insulin’s signals. When this happens, glucose stays in your bloodstream longer and has nowhere to go. Excess glucose is converted into fat.

Bottom line: Don’t over-stress insulin secretion. Your cells’ receptors like to work part time, and you will piss them off if you start trying to make them work overtime. I recommend eating non-starchy vegetables as your main source of carb consumption because they have the least impact on stimulating insulin.

5. Protein and Dietary Fat Has No Significant Impact on Blood Sugar

In terms of blood sugar, both protein and fat have an insignificant relationship with raising blood sugar. Carbohydrates and sugar are the MAIN culprits. Protein will convert into glucose, but ONLY when it is consumed in the absence of glucose in the diet.

6-Week Transformation Diet Plan

Diet Plan Authored By: Liv Langdon

The truth is, there is more than one diet approach to achieving your ultimate lean self. Every body is unique and responds differently to ‘successful’ diets. The two most important factors in determining which one will work best for you are sustainability and consistency.

The macronutrients are laid out for you once you plug in your individual factors here. You have options. Use those daily macronutrient numbers as goals for the day and use a food tracker like MyFitnessPal to plug in what you eat each day.

The end result is to simply hit those numbers on a daily basis. This allows for more flexibility. We know this is a hassle, so we laid out a detailed nutrition plan below based on your daily caloric intake.

Do: follow the guidelines, eat nutrient-dense food, utilize the substitution guides and vary your food, eat when you’re hungry and drink water.

Don’t: eat processed foods, get obsessed with numbers, over think the number of meals per day, nor be too concerned with nutrient timing.

Give yourself six weeks of maximum effort, and watch your body transform.

1,600-1,800 Calorie Meal Plan

Meal 1: 40g protein | 25g carbohydrates | 15g fat

● Protein: 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg
● Fat: from yolk, 1 tbsp almond butter
● Carbohydrate: ½ cup oatmeal (optional: ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk)

Meal 2: 35g protein | 28g carbohydrates | 20g fat

● Protein: 4-5 oz lean protein
● Fat: ½ avocado (if salmon or lean beef, no avocado)
● Carbohydrate: 4 oz sweet potato, 6-10 spears asparagus

Meal 3: 35g protein | 5g carbohydrates | 25g fat

● Protein: 4-ounce any lean protein
● Fat: 1 tbsp olive oil, balsamic, 1 tbsp crushed walnuts
● Carbohydrate: mixed greens, added veggies

Flex Meal: 35g protein | 34g carbohydrates | 11g fat

(post-workout shake; rearrange to fit your workout schedule)
● Protein: whey protein isolate shake
● Fat: 1 tbsp chia, mix with 1c unsweetened non-dairy milk
● Carbohydrate: 1 cup berries, ¼ cup oats

Total Daily Macros: 145g protein | 95g carbs | 72g fat

2,000-2,200 Calorie Meal Plan

Meal 1: 42g protein | 32g carbohydrates | 25g fat

● Protein: 6 egg whites, 2 whole eggs
● Fat: from yolk, 1 tbsp. peanut butter
● Carbohydrate: ¾ cup (dry measurement) oatmeal, ½ cup berries

Meal 2: 50g protein | 38g carbohydrates | 17g fat

● Protein: 7-ounce lean protein source
● Fat: 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 slice of uncured, nitrate-free bacon
● Carbohydrate: 6-ounce sweet potato, ½ – 1 cup vegetables

Meal 3: 61g protein | 36g carbohydrates | 30g fat

● Protein: 7-ounce fat protein source
● Fat: naturally in the protein sources; if a lean protein source, make sure to add ½ avocado OR approx. 15-18g fat from the fat substitutes in the table below (i.e. handful of nuts, 2 tbsp. olive oil or grass-fed butter)
● Carbohydrate: 1 cup quinoa, 1 cup vegetables

Flex Meal: 37g protein | 41g carbohydrates | 14g fat

(post-workout shake; rearrange to fit your workout schedule)
● Protein: whey isolate protein powder (equivalent to 35g protein)
● Fat: 2 tbsp. all-natural nut butter, 1 tbsp. chia seed, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
● Carbohydrate: ½ cup berries, ½ banana, ½ cup spinach

Total Daily Macros: 190g protein | 147g carbs | 86g fat

2,500 Calorie Meal Plan

Meal 1: 55g protein | 50g carbohydrates | 25g fat

● Protein: 8 egg whites, 2 whole eggs
● Fat: from yolk, 1 tbsp. peanut butter
● Carbohydrate: 1 cup (dry measurement) oatmeal, ½ cup berries

Meal 2: 55g protein | 45g carbohydrates | 35g fat

● Protein: 8-ounce lean protein source
● Fat: 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 slice of uncured, nitrate-free bacon
● Carbohydrate: 6-ounce sweet potato, ½ cup green beans

Meal 3: 60g protein | 45g carbohydrates | 15g fat

● Protein: 8-ounce fat protein source
● Fat: in the protein sources; if poultry, add ½ avocado OR approx. 18-22g fat from the sources below (i.e. handful of nuts, 2 tbsp. olive oil or grass-fed butter)
● Carbohydrate: 1 cup quinoa, 1 cup veggie

Flex Meal: 55g protein | 30g carbohydrates | 25g fat

(post-workout shake; rearrange to fit your workout schedule)
● Protein: whey isolate protein powder (equivalent to 35g protein)
● Fat: 2 tbsp. all-natural nut butter, 1 tbsp. chia seed, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
● Carbohydrate: ½ cup berries, ½ banana, ½ cup spinach

Total Daily Macros: 225g protein | 175g carbs | 100g fat

Substitution Guide

Lean Protein Substitutes

Carbohydrate Substitutes

Fat Substitutes

Probiotic-rich Foods

Extras & Condiments

8 Rules of Thumb

1. Every meal should contain a protein.

2. At least two of your meals should contain a healthy fat source.

3. Eat at least three meals with a carbohydrate.

4. Eat at least three meals with a serving or more of vegetables.

5. Incorporate a probiotic-rich food into your daily meal plan to constantly supply your gut with beneficial gut flora. This will help everything from ease of digestion to maximizing nutrient absorption to building a stronger immune system.

6. Eat every three to four hours or as little as every two hours. This is unless you are following a form of Intermittent Fasting (I.F.), which involves fasting for a period of the day or week and eating only during a specific period of time. I don’t recommend I.F. for those of you who are starving as soon as you wake up or simply enjoy eating. However, it can be a successful approach for certain individuals who don’t enjoy eating in the morning and are consistently leading an I.F.-style diet on a regular basis.

7. Drink at least ¾ gallon of water per day. This helps flush out toxins, aids in digestion, nutrient absorption, essentially all cellular functions and release ketones (if on a lower-carb diet) that may build up in the blood.

8. When dining out, try to stick with the following forms of food preparation:

● Baked
● Boiled
● Grilled
● Steamed
● Pan seared
● Lightly sautéed

6 Week Transformation Workout Plan

Workout Created By: Shane Heins

The first 4 weeks will focus on building a foundation of strength using only bodyweight exercises. Incorporated are exercises designed to make your body both more durable and injury resistant. You’ll also build a base to increase your cardio capacity.

You will be walking at the end of each workout, as well as on your “non-workout” days. Don’t underestimate the powerful benefits of walking as a means to create a transformation and working towards more intense cardio training.

6-Week Schedule Overview:

*Key:

UB = Upper Body Workout
LB = Lower Body Workout
Core = Core Workout
Walk = Walking
Run = Running

Week #1 Workout

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 2 min/set, x 5 sets

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 2 min/set, x 5 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 2 min/set, x 5 sets

– Walk –

x4 in Week 1

– Run –

x2 in Week 1

Week #2 Workout

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 1 min 30 sec/set, x 5 sets

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 1 min 30 sec/set, x 5 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 2 min/set, x 5 sets

– Walk –

x4 in Week 2

– Run –

x2 in Week 2

Week #3 Workout

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 1 min/set, x 5 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 1 min/set, x 5 sets

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 1 min/set, x 5 sets

– Walk –

x3 in Week 2

– Run –

x3 in Week 2

Week #4 Workout

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Walk –

x2 in Week 5

– Run –

x4 in Week 5

Week #5 Workout

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 45 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Walk –

x2 in Week 5

– Run –

x4 in Week 5

Week #6 Workout

– Upper Body Workout –

Rest 30 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Lower Body Workout –

Rest 30 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Core Workout –

Rest 30 sec/set, x 6 sets

– Walk –

x2 in Week 6

– Run –

x4 in Week 6

Putting It All Together

Don’t kid yourself. Look at your diet. You can train all you want, but unless you are eating a diet that triggers the right metabolic and hormonal responses, you’ll be running in circles trying to get those abs.

I have seen clients and trainees make the same mistake over and over again. Don’t let this be you. Now you know. There’s no escaping the “cause and effect” of eating the wrong types of foods.

Eat pure, my friends!

Download the Cause & Effect: Why You Can’t See Your Abs + 6-Week Transformation Plan PDF Version Below:

5-reasons-why-you-cant-see-your-abs-diet-plan

The post Cause & Effect: Why You Can’t See Your Abs + 6-Week Transformation Plan appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What is a Plank Jack?

The plank jack is a combination of two very common exercises: the plank and (big surprise) the jumping jack. You get on all fours in a plank position, and then hop your feet outward and inward while trying to keep your spine and pelvis aligned. The plank jack first started to hit the pages of fitness magazines in 2014, when it was offered up as a more advanced alternative to the standard plank—a longtime staple of core workouts because of the total-body stability it demands.

Celebrity trainers like Tracy Anderson, Anna Kaiser, and Erin Oprea started including plank jacks in their programming for ab/core workouts, and that catapulted the humble plank jack into the fitness mainstream. Whether you train at a big box gym, a boutique studio, or work out at home with a fitness plan you found online, you’re likely to come across the plank jack.

What are the Benefits of Doing Plank Jacks?

Plank jacks are similar to the mountain climber exercise, in that you try to stabilize the hips and spine while moving the lower limbs. Because pretty much the whole body is active, there’s a great demand placed on your heart, so plank jacks build cardio capacity while also developing strength and stability. “Plank jacks get your heart rate up quickly, and are lower-impact than exercises like high-knees or burpees,” says Carmen Morgan, a Houston-based trainer (@mytrainercarmen on Instagram). “So they’re suitable for a wide range of clients. The hopping component of the exercise allows you to feel your core engage more than when doing a regular plank, and most people seem to enjoy the plank jack more, too.”

What Muscles Do Plank Jacks Use?

Plank jacks require some muscles to maintain the isometric hold of the plank while asking others to generate motion in the hips and legs. First, they call the internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, and other core muscles into action to keep your body straight. On the other side of the body, plank jacks activate the muscles of the posterior chain to help you remain stable. These include the hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, rhomboids, rear delts, and lats. Since you’re elevated off the floor, plank jacks activate the forearms, biceps, triceps, front deltoids, and pecs to help you retain a stable plank position.

Then there’s the dynamic portion of the exercise. Your abductors pull your legs away from you when you hop, and the adductors draw them back toward your midline as you return to the starting position. Meanwhile, the calves (gastrocnemius and soleus) and quads also contribute to the explosive hop.

Wow… that’s quite the list, isn’t it? If you thought the plank jack was a basic bodyweight movement, you can see that there’s a lot more to it. It may be used to target the core, primarily, but it’s really a total-body exercise.

How To Do a Plank Jack

Step 1. Kneel down on the floor and place your hands on the floor. Bend your elbows so that your forearms rest on the floor. Your elbows should be directly beneath your shoulders.

Step 2. Extend your legs behind you and tuck your tailbone slightly so that your pelvis is perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze your glutes and brace your core. Your body should be in a straight line, your back flat. Focus your eyes on the floor.

Step 3. Keeping your body in a straight line, slightly bend at the knees and hop both feet out to the sides as if doing a jumping jack.

Step 4. Land on your toes, allowing your knees to bend slightly again, and then hop your legs back to the starting position.

The movement should look like a jumping jack performed from a plank position. Make sure you keep your belly button pulled in (core engaged) so you don’t let your hips drop. “That will prevent you from feeling all the bouncing in your lower back,” says Morgan.

Also, be careful not to move your feet out too wide with each hop. Morgan adds that, “Some people go a lot wider than is needed, which means they move slower and do fewer reps than they’re capable of.” Instead, hop your feet out just three or four inches from the starting position.

How Many Reps Should I Do?

Morgan advises performing reps for 20 seconds at a time, because “most people get gassed pretty quickly doing plank jacks.” The longer your set goes, the more likely you’ll fatigue and break form, and sloppy plank jacks where your hips bounce up and down aren’t good for anything.

When programming for HIIT workouts or bootcamps, Morgan usually includes three to four sets of plank jacks, and only prescribes them once her clients have thoroughly warmed up. “If you’re pushed for time and want to do a quick workout at home,” says Morgan, “you could do three sets of plank jacks by themselves to get your heart rate up and challenge your core strength.”

If you want to do plank jacks as part of a fat-loss circuit, Morgan typically sandwiches the exercise between renegade rows and floor presses. “It’s a quick and easy transition into and out of plank jacks when you combine them with other floor-based exercises,” she says. You can also use plank jacks as a finisher. Morgan often pairs them with regular planks. Try ending your workout with a superset in which you do 10 seconds of plank jacks followed immediately by 20 seconds of a plank hold. Rest 30–60 seconds, and repeat for three rounds.

Alternatives to the Plank Jack

Like all good exercises, the plank jack can be modified based on your experience level. The following are options you can use to regress or progress the plank jack as needed.

Regression

Can’t do a full plank jack? Don’t despair. Just work on mastering the regular stationary plank, which will help you improve head-to-toe stability before adding in the dynamic movement component. Perform three sets, holding the position as long as you can. When you can hold one set of the plank for two minutes, you should have ample stability to move on to a tougher plank variation.

When you’re ready to add a little motion to your plank, start with the plank jack toe tap (see the video below). While in the plank position, slowly move your right leg out to the side by a couple of inches and, as the name suggests, tap your toes lightly on the floor. Pull your leg back to the starting position and then repeat on the other side. Continue for 20 seconds, rest for a minute, and then do another set. Do this twice a week until it feels comfortable, and then try the full plank jack.

Progression

As you become more confident in and competent with the plank jack, you can increase your speed, the length of your sets, or do it in conjunction with other exercises, such as pullups, pushups, or jumping rope, as well as the movements Morgan suggested earlier.

If you want another exercise that combines a similar level of stability and motion, you can perform mountain climbers, particularly the hip-opening version, to improve your mobility.

The post Plank Jacks: How To Do Them & Why Your Workout Needs Them appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Strengthen and Tone Your Core and Abs With These Workouts

Onnit consulted a core-training expert to create the best workouts for ladies of every level, beginner to advanced.

The 4 Pillars Of Core Training

According to Sarah Jamieson, CEO of Moveolution and co-creator of the Onnit Academy Durability Certification, core exercise can be filed into four different categories.

– Anti-Extension: These exercises make you work to resist extension at the spine (aka arching your back). Example: the classic plank.

– Anti-Lateral Flexion: These moves have you resisting sideways bending of the spine. Example: the side plank.

– Anti-Rotation: Resist rotation at the spine (twisting in either direction). Example: a Pallof press.

– Controlled Rotation: Rotate the spine purposefully (as opposed to being unable to control its twisting). Example: a cable woodchop.

You’ll notice that there’s no category for pure spine flexion, such as you would do in a crunch or sit-up exercise. This is not part of a safe and effective core training program, so we’re leaving it out (see “Why Are Situps Bad For You?” below).

Stick to the pillars above, and you’ll lay a foundation of core stability and strength that prevents injury and, of course, makes it possible to get lean, sexy abs.

Can I Do Core Workouts Daily?

One of the oldest myths in fitness is that you have to work abs every day in order to see the muscles and maintain a strong core. First of all, having visible ab definition comes down (almost entirely) to being lean. So if you want to see your abs, eat fewer calories and exercise until the fat burns off them. If you want a strong core, you should be conscious of how you’re using your abs every day, but you only need to train them hard and directly with the same frequency you would other muscles—two to three times per week.

“There are two kinds of core training,” says Jamieson, “core stability and core strength.” In many exercises, the two will be trained at the same time, but it’s important to understand the different ways in which your core works. “Core stability is the ability to stabilize the spine and pelvis,” says Jamieson. In any training you do, you always want to begin with your spine long, and maintain the natural arch in your lumbar. Your pelvis should be perpendicular to the spine, not tilted forward or back. When you move—or something else tries to move you—it’s your core stability that kicks in first to clamp down on the spine and pelvis, preventing them from going into positions that could hurt you.

“We work core stability naturally every day, and it should be worked daily,” says Jamieson, “but not necessarily in the gym.” Your posture plays a big role in maintaining core stability, so Jamieson suggests being more conscious of good body positions when doing your daily activities, including sitting and walking. Think about keeping your shoulders back and down (think: “proud chest”), your pelvis parallel with the floor, and your chin tucked, so that your head is in line with your spine. This can help reduce the risk of tight hips, lower-back pain, and many kinds of injuries. Jamieson also recommends daily diaphragmatic breathing that focuses on connecting your movements with breathing patterns. For examples of breath-work variations, visit Jamieson’s video library.

The counterpart to core stability is core strength, the ability to transmit force while the core is stabilizing the spine. (Take note of this: you need good core stability before you can build great core strength.) Think of building core strength like you do any other kind of strength—it’s intense training, and therefore doesn’t need to be done on a daily basis.

Core strength training includes all the moves you typically think of as “ab exercises,” but isn’t limited to just those. It can really comprise any exercise that relies on your core—even if the main focus of the exercise is on another area of the body. Squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses all depend heavily on the core muscles, and can help train core strength as well as give you a sharp set of abs (provided your body fat is low enough to see them).

There are two notable exceptions, however, that don’t belong in a core-training program: crunches and situps.

Why Are Situps Bad For You?

“I have a lot of clients who say, ‘I want a six-pack,’” says Jamieson. “Well, that’s a great goal to have. However, we are not going to get there through exercises that flex the spine, because we know that is not the best way to train your core.” The problem with crunches and situps is that the motion flexes the spine, particularly the lower spine (lumbar). Done repeatedly over time, this can damage intervertebral discs in the spine and create lower-back pain. “Generally speaking, 80% of the population suffers from lower-back pain,” says Jamieson, “because of accumulated and/or compounding poor postural habits and movement dysfunction.” Adding more spinal flexion to the problem via our core training is like pouring gas on a fire.

Research from Harvard supports using plank variations over crunch and situp exercises to train the core more thoroughly and with less risk for injury. 

Jamieson says to sprinkle core strength exercises (such as those that follow below) into the workouts you’re already doing a couple times per week, and focus on making big, functional exercises, such as deadlifts and farmer’s walks, the cornerstones of your workouts. They work your core in conjunction with lots of other muscles, helping you get better, faster results for the time you put in.

How Do I Get Started With Core Training?

If you’re new to core training, or just getting back into working out, you should start with exercises that use the floor to help you stabilize. The more of your body that’s in contact with the floor, the more stable your movements become, and the more feedback you get from your body on how you’re performing the exercise. These moves may not look too challenging, but you’ll feel them right away, and they’ll help you progress to even tougher moves.

*Always consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program, especially during pregnancy or following childbirth.

Beginner Core Exercise #1

Resistance Band Leg-Lowering

Step 1: Anchor a resistance band to a sturdy, stable object, such as a weight bench, power rack, or cable station.

Step 2: Lie flat on the floor with your head right behind the band. Tuck your tailbone under slightly to ensure your back is completely flat against the floor and that there is no arching of the spine.

Step 3: Start the move by driving the weight of your feet into the floor through your heels.

Step 4: Reach back and grasp the resistance band, raising it over your face. Now pull your arms down and forward toward your chest, keeping the wrists in line with the forearms. This will put tension on the band, and encourage your shoulders and trunk to stabilize your arms and body prior to executing the leg lift.

Step 5: Now raise your right leg up to 90 degrees, keeping your knee as straight as possible. Hold the position 5 seconds. Lower your leg, raise your arms back up to take tension off the band, and then repeat the entire movement. Do all your reps on one leg, and then work the other one on your next set.

Do sets of 5–10 reps.

Beginner Core Exercise #2

Bear Crawl

Step 1: Get on all fours with your feet flexed so your toes are touching the floor. Your shoulders should be directly over your wrists and your knees should line up with your hips.

Step 2: Brace your core and extend your knees slightly to raise them off the floor. Begin crawling forward, moving your left foot in time with your right hand, and then vice versa. Go forward a few steps, and then crawl backward. Each step is one rep.

While executing the movement, be mindful of maintaining a long spine and keeping the head, spine, and pelvis aligned. If you like, place a towel, block, or water bottle on your back to remind you to keep your back flat and core rigid.

Do sets of 5–10 reps.

How To Stretch Your Abs

Before doing a core workout, warm up with these moves to mobilize your back and hips, courtesy of Onnit Durability Coach Cristian Plascencia (@cristian_thedurableathlete on Instagram).

Beginner Core Workouts for Women

These workouts focus on developing stability in the core and lower back. They’re ideal for new moms who are ready to get their pre-pregnancy body back. Often times, pregnancy weakens the muscles and tissues that support the uterus and other pelvic organs. As a result, they can shift position. Strengthening the deep core muscles with the following movements helps things shape up down there.

Beginner Core Workout #1

Jamieson, a mother herself, says this routine can be done six weeks postpartum, and for up to three months. You can do it on its own day, or tack it on to the beginning or end of workouts you’re currently doing. Perform the routine two to three times per week.

Perform one set of each exercise in sequence, resting as needed between sets, and then repeat. So you’ll do one set of 1A, rest, then 1B, rest, 1C, rest, and repeat. Start with sets of 3–5 reps for each move, and repeat the exercises for 10 minutes. Add time each week, eventually building up to 10 reps per exercise and a 25-minute workout.

Pay constant attention to your pelvic position, and make sure to breathe intro your diaphragm so your belly expands 360 degrees (your chest and shoulders should not rise first). Breathing like this enhances your stability.

1A Upper-Body Rolling Pattern

Step 1: Begin by lying on the floor with your arms fully extended over your head. Tuck your pelvis so that your lower back flattens against the floor.

Step 2: Begin reaching your left arm across your face, just under your chin, keeping your other arm fully extended behind you. Brace your core. Slowly bring your arm to the other side of your body, twisting the torso. The lower body should remain motionless until the upper body pulls the lower body over. Be sure to keep your feet down on the floor—actively push them down as you twist. Pause here.

Step 3: Now extend your left arm, reaching forward for the direction you’ve been turning, and then slowly lead the rest of your body over, landing stomach down on the floor. Allow your feet to roll over when you can’t turn your shoulders anymore.

Step 4: Reverse the entire motion to return your body to the starting position, and then repeat to the opposite side.

One roll to each side equals one rep.

1B Functional Squat Progression 2

Step 1: Get on all fours and tuck your pelvis under slightly to create a long, neutral spine.

Step 2: Bring your right foot to the outside of your right hand, landing in a kneeling position (as in a mountain climber). Then raise your left foot up and place it back on the floor so it rests on the ball of your foot.

Step 3: Step forward with your left leg to move into the bottom of a squat. As you are shifting your leg, tilt your pelvis to see that it lines up with your spine as you plant your foot. Reach out with both arms to help you keep balance.

Step 4: Actively hold the bottom squat position for 3–5 seconds. Then raise your hips up slightly to create space to step back. Place your hands on the floor and take your left leg back to the starting position, resting your knee on the floor.

Step 5: Extend your torso up to a half-kneeling position, keeping your arms extended out front. Slowly return your whole body to the starting position.

A mountain climber into the squat on each side equals one rep.

1C Horned Deadlift

Step 1: Place a moderate-weight kettlebell on the floor between your feet.

Step 2: Stand tall, root your feet into the floor by twisting them outward slightly (but don’t let your feet move). Imagine twisting up some turf beneath your feet—you should feel your glutes fire up. Drive your arms down, reaching for the floor, to create muscular tension throughout the body.

Step 3: Keeping a slight bend in your knees, hike your hips back and reach for the kettlebell. Make sure your head, spine, and pelvis make a long straight line.

Step 4: Grip the kettlebell handle hard—try to crush it. Pull your shoulders down and together (think: “proud chest”) and take a deep breath into your belly. Brace your core.

Step 5: Explosively extend your hips and pull the kettlebell upward, sliding your hands around the horns as it rises until the weight settles at your chest and your forearms are vertical.

Step 6: Press the bottom of the kettlebell into your chest, being careful not to let your ribs flare (core stays tight). Keep your chest proud.

Step 7: Holding the weight tightly against you, hike your hips back again, pushing your weight onto your heels.

Step 8: Pause when you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, and then press the hips forward again to stand tall.

All of the above is one rep.

Beginner Workout #2

After you’ve mastered Beginner Workout #1, progress to this routine that can take you from the three-month mark forward. Perform the workout as you did the previous one, but do 10–15 reps per set (and each side) and train for 10 minutes. Add time each week.

1A KB Goblet Squat

Step 1: Stand behind a kettlebell, root your feet, and clean the weight up to chest level, as described in the horned deadlift exercise above.  

Step 2: Actively pull your hips down to the floor, sitting back into a squat while you drive the knees forward and outward. Go as low as you can while keeping your head, spine, and pelvis aligned. If you feel your tailbone tuck under, stop there.

Step 3: Hold the bottom position 3–5 seconds, and then actively press the floor away to stand tall again.

1B Bear Crawl

See the directions under Beginner Core Exercise #2 above.

1C Single Arm Steel Club Carry

Step 1: Hold a moderate-weight steel club (five to 15 pounds) in your right hand, arm bent 90 degrees. Focus on stabilizing the club by keeping a firm grip and activating your arm muscles to keep the shoulder down and back, and your elbow close to your side.

Step 2: Tuck your pelvis under slightly and brace your core. Extend your left arm 90 degrees out to your side to help you balance, and then raise your left knee above hip level.

Step 3: Take a step forward while maintaining the stability in the arm holding the club. Repeat for 5 steps, and then switch arms.

Advanced Core Exercises

Once you’re dominating the exercises and workouts listed above, take your core training up a notch by adding these moves to your repertoire.

Advanced Core Exercise #1

KB Plank with Arm Raise

Step 1: Place two kettlebells on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Get into a pushup position with your hands on the kettlebells and feet out wide for a solid base of support. Your wrists must be straight, not flexed or extended. Tuck your tailbone under slightly, flex your glutes, and brace your core.

Step 2: Let go of one kettlebell and raise your arm straight out in front of you. As you raise it, keep your shoulder pulling back and downward—don’t shrug as you lift your arm. Hold the top for 2 seconds.

Step 3: Replace your hand on the kettlebell and raise the opposite arm.

Perform 5–10 reps per side.

Advanced Core Exercise #2

KB Renegade Row w/ Arm Raise

Step 1: Set up as you did for the plank with arm raise above. Be sure to hold the kettlebell handles in the middle.

Step 2: Raise your right arm up, as described in the plank with arm raise, and then grip the kettlebell again.

Step 3: Press into the floor as hard as you can with your left hand and foot, and then row the right-hand bell to your side. Squeeze your back muscles as you pull. Avoid twisting your shoulders or hips as you row, and bring your elbow tight to your waist.

Step 4: Lower the kettlebell back down and repeat on the opposite side.

Perform 5–10 reps per side.

Advanced Core Workout for Women

Perform the workout as an EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) for 15 minutes. Start a timer and begin your first set of the first exercise at the top of the first minute. When you finish your reps, you have the rest of that minute to relax. Then you’ll do your first set of the second exercise (1B) at the start of the next minute. At the top of the third minute, do 1C. Repeat the exercises in that fashion until 15 minutes are up. Perform 10–15 reps per set.

1A Steel Club Deadstop Swing

Step 1: Hold a light- to moderate-weight steel club with both hands at the bottom of the handle.

Step 2: Keeping a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips, driving them back while you maintain a long spine with head and pelvis lined up. Extend your arms out long in front of you, but keep your shoulders pulled back and down.

Step 3: Lift your hips up slightly to create space to swing the club back in between your legs. Then drive your hips up and forward to propel the club up to shoulder height.

Step 4: Hinge at the hips again, breaking the speed of the swing by letting it come back between your legs and stop on the floor. Reset, and repeat.

1B KB Plank With Arm Raise

See the directions under Advanced Core Exercises above.

1C Double-Racked Crossover Farmer Carry

Step 1: Grasp two kettlebells whose combined weight makes a moderate load—30–50% of your total body weight.

Step 2: Hold the kettlebells by the handles with hands facing each other and resting your forearms on your chest.

Step 3: Engage your core by bringing your belly button up and into the body. Brace your core to support the weight. Cross your right foot over your left, and then step out with your left foot.

Step 4: Cross your right foot behind your left, and step out again. Stand tall and avoid bending in any direction while you move. Repeat for 10–15 reps in one direction and then repeat in the other.

15-Minute Core Workout, No Equipment

Perform each exercise for 45 seconds (on each side where applicable). Rest as little as possible between exercises. Repeat for 3 rounds, or until 15 minutes expires.

1A Downdog To Plank 

Step 1: Get on all fours and then push your hips up and back into the downdog position. Your head, spine, and pelvis should form a long line and your arms should be straight and pressing into the floor. Bend your knees as needed, but keep your pelvis straight—don’t allow your lower back to round over. Hold for 5 seconds.

Step 2: Slowly extend your hips to lower into the top of a pushup (a plank). As you move to the plank position, pack your shoulders together and press your heels back to create a straight line with your body. Hold the plank for 5 seconds.

1B Cook Hip Lift

Step 1: Lie on your back with your knees bent about 90 degrees, feet planted on the floor and in line with your shoulders.

Step 2: Raise your left thigh to your chest and hug it in with your arms. If needed, pin a rolled-up towel in the crease of your hip to maintain the connection.

Step 3: Push through your right heel to raise your hips as high as you can. Pause at the top and lower your butt back to the floor.

1C Bear Crawl  

See the directions under Beginner Core Exercises above.

1D Functional Squat Progression 3

Perform as you did the functional squat progression 2 (under Beginner Core Workout #1), but stand up tall after you get into the squat position. Then step back into the half-kneeling position.

1E Mountain Climber Hip Lift

Step 1: Get into the top position of a pushup and then bring your right knee to your chest, planting your foot on the floor (perform a mountain climber).

Step 2: Rotate your right foot away from your body and twist your torso to follow it as you lower your left hip to the floor. Your left leg should be fully extended with your right leg at a 90-degree angle over it.

Step 3: Plant your left hand on the floor and lift your hip off the floor as high as you can, reaching your right arm over your head at the same time. Be careful not to hyperextend your lower back. Keep your core braced so the movement comes from your hips and shoulder, not your spine.

Visit Sarah Jamieson at her Movelution website, or follow her on Instagram, @moveolution.

The post The 3 Best Core Exercises & Workouts for Women appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What Is The Twist and Sit Knee?

The twist and sit–knee trains scapular stability, rotation in the mid back (thoracic spine), and mobility in the hips. Most people have trouble turning their shoulders and/or hips without bending or extending their lower back, which can lead to injury. Learning to move in rotation while keeping spinal alignment creates greater stability throughout the body and reduces compressive forces on the vertebrae. Furthermore, the twist and sit helps you learn to move the hips while keeping the shoulders stable, and vice versa, which applies to sports and other activities where you have to turn on a dime.

How To Do The Twist and Sit–Knee

Step 1: Get on all fours on the floor. Place your hands in front of you, directly beneath your shoulders. Your knees should be directly beneath your hips.

Step 2: Press your hands into the floor, twisting them outward to activate your shoulder blades and upper back (you’ll feel tension and stability in these areas). Draw your shoulder blades back together and down—think “proud chest.”

Step 3: Pull your knees toward your hands, activating your hips. Your knees should rise off the floor so they’re one hand-width behind your arms. Now brace your core. Your body should form a straight line from the top of your head to your hips.

Step 4: Keep tension in your upper body by pushing into the floor, and twist your hips to the right while keeping your shoulders square to the floor.

Step 5: Turn as far as you can, allowing your right foot to pivot until it’s flat and your toes point straight ahead (perpendicular to where you started). Your right knee should point up to the ceiling. Allow the left ankle to hook behind your right heel as you turn. (Your left leg should end up perpendicular to where you started and just above the floor.)

Step 6: Let your hips stretch so your butt touches the floor (or close to it), while at the same time driving your right knee out. Don’t allow the knee to collapse back inward.

Step 7: Repeat the movement to the opposite side.

Muscles Worked in the Twist and Sit-Knee

– Chest
– Shoulders
– Upper back
– Triceps
– Core
– Hips
– Quads

Twist and Sit-Knee Benefits

– Increased thoracic (T-spine) mobility
– Greater scapular control (the ability to set your shoulder blades down and back, i.e. good posture)
– Improved hip mobility
– Core strength

How To Use The Twist and Sit–Knee

– Include the twist and sit in your warmup to prepare your T-spine, scapulae (shoulder blades), and hips to move and stabilize.

– Use it as part of a bodyweight cardio circuit or finisher. Try performing reps for 20 seconds and resting 10 seconds between rounds.

– Alternate rounds of the twist and sit with sets of conventional exercises. If you’re deadlifting, the twist and sit can help relieve pressure on your lower back between sets, reducing the risk of injury. On squats, it can help activate your hips so you’re better able to push your knees apart and squat more deeply.

Regression

If you have trouble keeping your hands on the floor when you twist, do the sit through–knee instead (raise one hand off the floor as you turn). It requires less mobility in your T spine.

Progression

When you’ve mastered the twist and sit–knee, try the twist and sit–leg. Extending the trailing leg as you twist increases the challenge.

Sample Workouts

See the twist and sit–knee in action HERE.

The twist and sit-knee (and its variations) also appears in the Onnit 6 Bodyweightprogram, a six-week transformation plan you can do in your home.

The post Master This Move: The Twist and Sit–Knee Bodyweight Exercise appeared first on Onnit Academy.

For that reason, your dream of having abs this summer isn’t dead. In fact, if you take the next few weeks seriously, you can still get lean enough to say you were ripped before the sun goes down on the summer of ’17.

Here’s your plan of action.

Summer Abs Training

When people want to see their muscles pop, they tend to make the mistake of doing more isolation exercises—curls, crunches, pec flyes, etc.

They reason that by isolating these muscles, they’ll grow more and show better.

The problem is, isolation exercises don’t demand much of your body.

They don’t burn enough calories to get you leaner—and when you’re lean, every muscle shows better.

So, when you want to lose fat, you should train the same way as when you want to get bigger—with compound lifts that work as much muscle as possible.

The ideal training program will include a minimum of three to four resistance training sessions per week, emphasizing basic lifts like squats, presses, and deadlifts.

Three to five sets of 4–10 reps is a good range to work in.

Once you’ve done those exercises, you can follow them up with what’s called “accessory” lifts—exercises that build the muscles that are needed to make you strong on the main lifts and balance out your physique.

This could be hamstring exercises like leg curls or Romanian deadlifts after squats, incline dumbbell presses and chinups after bench presses, and hip thrusts and ab work after deadlifts.

To maximize caloric output, you can spend more time on your accessory work, and perform it in a number of ways.

Realize that lifting burns calories just like cardio does, and for most us, it’s a heck of a lot more fun to do.

Here are some options:

1. Do a “finisher.”

A finisher is an exercise you use to close out your workout and empty your tank. It’s done in short, intense intervals that jack up your metabolic rate.

Finishers include sprints with a weighted sled, jumping rope, or 30 power cleans with a light weight for time. Make up your own finishers, but limit them to 10 minutes at the end of your strength training.

2. Turn up the volume.

Gradually adding a few extra sets, reps, or exercises to your accessory work over time can boost its muscle-building effect and help you burn more calories.

For example, if you’re doing three sets of dumbbell bench presses in your first week on this program, go up to two sets in the second week. On a different exercise, if you were doing sets of 10, go for sets of 12. If you start out doing one exercise for your back, do two of them.

3. Try a Tabata.

The Tabata protocol is simply this: work hard for 20 seconds and rest 10. Continue for four minutes. Try it with burpees.

Summer Abs Cardio

While traditional cardio will go a long way toward burning calories, it can be boring. Worse yet, your body adapts to it quickly, making it harder to lose more fat.

For that reason, you should focus more on high-intensity cardio. Examples include bike sprints and kettlebell swings—many of the same exercises you might use for finishers. Limit your high-intensity cardio to 20 minutes, and try to do it after a weight workout or on a separate day entirely. Two or three days per week is enough.

The following is a metabolic conditioning workout (“metcon”) that won’t infringe on your ability to recovery from weight workouts.

Push/Pull/Core Metcon

A1. Lat pulldown, 7 reps
A2. Pushup, 10 reps

Do as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes. For the pulldown, choose a weight that allows you about 12 reps.

Rest 3 min.

B1. One-arm dumbbell snatch, 10 reps (alternate arms)
B2. Situp, 10 reps (add weight to make it more challenging)

Do as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes. For the snatch, choose a weight that allows you about 15 reps.

Not only will this metcon burn a lot of calories and raise your metabolism for days afterward, it will also provide a significant number of reps in terms of pushing, pulling and core work. The extra volume will pump up your chest, back, shoulders, and abs (the “trophy” muscles), enhancing your physique as you lean out.

Sprinting

Another cardio option is to run sprints, preferably up a hill, which is safer than running on flat ground. Try the following sprint protocol for three weeks.

Week 1: Run 15 seconds; rest 45 seconds
Week 2: Run 20 seconds; rest 60 seconds
Week 3: Run 30 seconds; rest 90 seconds

Keep each workout to 20 minutes or less. Do no more than two sprint sessions per week, preferably on the same day you train lower body.

Summer Abs Diet

Even when you want to get lean—stat—the solution is not to cut calories to the bone. Jumping on an overly restrictive diet will actually send signals to the body to store fat!

Rather, you want an aggressive but safe, strategic nutrition plan.

Start consuming 10–12 calories per pound of your current body weight. So if you’re 200 pounds, eat 2,000–2,400 calories daily. To maintain your muscle tissue despite the calorie deficit, you need protein and lots of it—one to 1.2 grams per pound of your body weight. So, a 200-pounder should shoot for 200–240 grams, composed mainly of lean meats, eggs, fish, and protein supplements.

Now comes the big question: low carbs or low fat? Research has repeatedly shown that overall calories is what matters most for fat loss—not the specific amount of carbs or fat you eat. Therefore, your fat intake can range from 20–40% of total calories (even higher percentages are fine if you’re following a ketogenic diet, but most people find it’s easier to stick within the 20–40% range).

Use your current intake to determine which end of this range is most suitable for you. For example, if you presently don’t eat much fat, now is not the time to experiment with 40%, as that would present too shocking a change to your body (and your lifestyle). Another consideration that will help you decide whether to go higher fat or higher carb is your activity level.

If the aforementioned training is all you’re going to do, you probably won’t need extra carbs for energy, so more fat might be the way to go—plus it will keep you fuller and may better suit your tastes (you could keep more butter, coconut oil, or avocadoes in your diet if you love them). Conversely, if your day job is active (maybe you work construction or coach a sport), or you want to maximize performance in your workouts, you might do better with a lower-fat, higher-carb approach.

Let’s split the difference and say the 200-man sets his fat at 30% and his calories at 2,400. He’ll need to consume 720 calories of fat, which breaks down to 80 grams (divide by nine, as one gram of fat has nine calories).

The final macronutrient is carbs. To find how many you need, simply take the number of calories that you have not yet allocated and divide by four. The 200-pound man who’s eating 2,400 calories, 200 grams of protein (800 calories), and 80 grams of fat (720 calories) will have 880 calories left, which is 220 grams of carbs.

His macros:
200g protein
80g fat
220g carbs

But while quantity is one thing, quality is another. Pop-tarts and donuts technically fall under the umbrella of carbs, but they have no place in a warp-speed diet. Choose fibrous carbs, such as fruits and vegetables, and healthy starches like sweet potatoes, rice, and oatmeal. If you feel the need for a “treat,” limit it to once per week and keep it within your macronutrient targets.

Summer Abs Motivation

Right now, you’re probably champing at the bit to get started. You have a vision of the six-pack you’re chasing in your mind and nothing can stop you. But what happens when your significant other wants to go out to eat, your friends invite you to a bar, or the office orders pizza and one slice is calling your name?

The reality is that, at some point over the next four weeks, some of these things will happen. The key to not letting them derail your progress is first understanding that they are coming, and second, how to deal with them.

Try journaling each morning. In your journal, identify any potential hurdles you think you might encounter in your day ahead of time. Then create a list of ways that you will overcome these hurdles and remain compliant with your plan. For example, if you know you’re going to a party at the end of the week, put in writing that you’ll eat perfectly till then and limit yourself to two drinks and no bad food during the event.

Consider having an accountability resource. This could be a person you count on to keep you honest with yourself, or it could be as simple as logging your journey on social media. You don’t really want to have to tell the world that you messed up, do you? By letting others know what you’re trying to accomplish, you’ll be more apt to stay the course—if only to save face in front of them.

Another strategy: make a reverse bet. Think of something you REALLY don’t want to do, so if you screw up, you have to do it. Try to make this something constructive—i.e., don’t penalize yourself for eating a box of cookies by eating a second one till you feel sick. (If you eat badly, force yourself to pay your bills early or set the money you were saving for a new home theater system aside for your IRA, so at least something good comes of your misstep.) But it should feel like there’s a big price to pay if you let yourself down. No playing small!

The bottom line is that the real challenge over the next month is likely more mental than it is physical. However, if you understand that now and plan for it, you are far more likely to achieve success.

Summer Abs Recovery

Rest and recuperation may be the most overlooked component of any program, but it is especially important when trying to lose fat.

Sleep maximizes growth hormone and testosterone, both of which allow for greater work output in the gym, faster recovery, and subsequently improve your ability to lose fat.

Start going to bed at the same time every night and waking at the same time to get your body into a rhythm.

Aim for at least seven hours. Make your bedroom as dark as possible, and avoid electronics for at least an hour before bedtime.

Putting It All Together for Summer Abs

Here’s a summary of what you need to do to see your abs before the end of summer:

– Train hard with tough exercises. Mostly compound lifts and heavy weights.

– Do some metabolic conditioning. Finishers, Tabatas, and sprint work should be staples in your workouts.

– Set up macros that work for you and stick to them, eating the healthiest, most natural foods possible. You can cheat at one meal per week.

– Sleep enough to recover from all of your activities. #TeamNoSleep is #TeamNoAbs!

– Mentally prepare yourself for temptation and other challenges that you will encounter.

Follow each of these points, and you’ll ensure that your summer memories include you with six-pack abs.

The post The Last Chance For Summer Abs Workout & Diet Plan appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Imagine yourself being escorted inside the cage, ready for battle, armed with only your training and fearlessness.

Ding, ding…bright lights…cheering…taunting…quick hands…BOOM, you’re on your back! Now this is where the workout begins.

As a former professional MMA fighter, I am familiar with the scenario above and what it takes to never back down, even when on your back.

It is common to hear that fighters do not have strength while on their backs, as it is considered a weak position of attack.

Although it may not be the best position of attack, it certainly does not need to be a weak position.

MMA Core Strength & the Kettlebell

In my career, I’ve given opponents a serious run while they were in my guard and it is all because of the mighty kettlebell. Some of the most important aspects of kettlebell training are directly related to fighting.

For example, increased hand torque from rotation in your press and greater strength/stabilization in your posterior chain.

Whether or not you are a fighter, you never want to have a point of WEAKness, especially with all the other imminent threats out there – zombie apocalypse, alien invasion, and Solange Knowles. So, now that you know what you are up against let’s do it!!

For the following workout, I have combined two great kettlebell exercises to help strengthen through the emulation of MMA style escapes and attacks from your back!

Floor Press to Half Turkish Get Up

Begin by laying next to a kettlebell on your right side, rollover to the kettlebell, lift up the kettlebell with your right hand, assisting the bell with your left hand. Once you’re set and on your back, you are ready to fight through the next steps…

Step 1: the kettlebell with a strong wrist and a slight rotation off your chest. With a strong hand lower the bell down with tension. As the elbow grazes the floor immediately, prepare the body for the Half Turkish Get Up.

Step 2: Bring the kettlebell to your chest and press it so that you arm back to the vertical position and locked at the top.

Step 3: Keeping your right knee bent, use your right foot and left arm to get yourself into a seated position almost like a sweep. Plant your right foot and use your left arm to drive up through your hips, bringing your left knee to the ground.

Step 4a: Keeping your foot planted, elevate your hips parallel to the ground and pause at the top.

Step 4b: Reverse and Repeat.

Notes: Tension is critical in all training, especially while targeting the core/spine area with overhead weight. Make sure to focus on your breathing to maintain proper tension and strength so you avoid injury and early fatigue.

The post 4 Steps to MMA Core Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.

This could be true of basics such as the push-up or squat, but there is a wide variety of modifications and leverage adjustments that can be made to change the difficulty of most bodyweight exercises.

This is especially true when you understand how to use combinations of movements and also how to adjust from using one training tool to another with the same exercise.

In this post, I’ll share with you a variety of exercises, along with a workout plan, that will improve your strength, balance, and overall body control with just the use of your bodyweight, a level floor, a suspension trainer and the parallettes.

If you haven’t seen parallettes (otherwise known as p-bars) before, they are similar to the parallel bars in gymnastics, but closer to the floor and much more portable.

By raising you up off the floor a few inches, they allow you to do a variety of bodyweight exercises for more repetitions than you could do directly on the floor.

And it’s this fact, that we will be using to illustrate how to combine these two modalities to increase your strength and bodyweight control.

I’ll be demonstrating upper body and core focused exercises that can either be added to your current routine, or when combined, can be done as a standalone workout.

Some Programming Considerations for Parallettes and Floor Exercises

As I mentioned before, the movements I’ll demonstrate will be more difficult on the floor. This is because the parallettes give you more clearance and your hips and legs can drop below the level of your hands.

This obviously can’t be done on the floor, as your movement would stop. So to do these right on the floor, you’ll have to push and lift your body higher to keep it above your hands the entire time.

In these series of exercises, we’ll be taking advantage of that fact by performing them on the floor first for 1-2 repetitions, then resting a minute, then doing as many repetitions as possible on the parallettes. You’ll then rest for another 2-3 minutes, and repeat the circuit for 3-5 sets.

If you are having a hard time with the floor version, set a timer for a minute and make as many attempts as you can, then rest a minute and move on to parallettes. Continue as per the protocol above.

Below, I’ll describe two exercise combinations. The first emphasizes bent arm exercises, and the second emphasizes straight arm exercises. Both combinations demonstrate how to perform each of these exercises on the floor and on the parallettes.

Parallettes and Floor Skill Fusion #1 – Bent Arm Strength

In the following video, I’ll demonstrate each of the exercises we’ll cover below.

Bent Arm Exercise #1 – Arm Levers

Here I demonstrate single and double arm levers, in which you support your body on your upper arms. Keep your elbows tucked in close for support and squeeze your butt and legs strongly to keep tight and assist your balancing.

I start with a single elbow lever on one side, switch over to the other, and then end in the double arm. A two to three second hold is good and shows you have control in the position. You can hold longer as you get better, but work on making the transitions smooth right from the start.

Bent Arm Exercise #2 – Floating Crane Push-Ups

The crane is a yoga pose where you lift your knees up towards your chest, balancing on straight arms. I’ve turned it into a dynamic exercise where you start with bent elbows and straighten up into the crane. This is somewhat like regular push-ups, but here, you take your lower body up with you. It’s a great core builder.

Bent Arm Exercise #3 – L-Sit to Bent Arm Stand

The L-sit is a standard bodyweight move that we’ll put in motion, lifting our hips back and up into the bent arm stand.

Keep your elbows in tight and just as in the Floating Crane Push-Ups, you’ll be using your core strongly. This combination move from straight to bent arms is great for developing body control.

Bent Arm Exercise #4 – Bent Arm Press to Handstand

This exercise now takes you from bent arms to straight arms into the handstand. It’s not an easy move by any means!

The important cues here are to keep your elbows in tight and maintain the vertical alignment of your shoulders directly over your hands.

Parallettes and Floor Skill Fusion #2 – Straight Arm Strength

In this next video, I’ll show you exercises that emphasize more of the straight arm strength that is a staple of gymnastic style training.

Straight Arm Exercise #1 – Tuck to Straddle Planche Repeats

Starting off in a tuck hold, bring your knees back and straighten into the straddle planche for a second, then return to the tuck and repeat. The key here is keeping your elbows locked the entire time.

You could do this exercise with bent arms, but it’d be an entirely different move.

Straight Arm Exercise #2 – Straddle Press Repeats

Here, we’ll do a straddle press to handstand, but instead of stopping in the handstand, bring your legs back down to lightly touch to the level of your hands and then lift back up again. Emphasize a slower negative to develop control.

You’ll want to have a solid handstand before attempting this exercise.

Straight Arm Exercise #3 – V-Sit to Handstand

The V-sit is more difficult than an L-Sit, requiring more abdominal and hip flexor strength to get the position. That core will be worked even more as you lift back and up into the handstand.

Modifying Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises with Suspension Training

In this post I’ve shared some of my favorite exercises for upper body and core strength development, using the parallettes and the floor.

These certainly aren’t beginners’ movements, but are meant for those of you that have been working hard on your strength, and are ready for a new challenge for your bodyweight movements.

If you are new to fitness and want to control the difficulty of bodyweight training, it would be a good idea to consider gym rings or some type of suspension system.

Any beginner can rapidly enhance their bodyweight training performance with s using hundreds of drills; even so, the people who may benefit the most are those new to training all together.

Suspension training uses gravity and your bodyweight to give you hundreds of exercises that can enhance your strength, conditioning, and agility like no other tool available.

Perform hundreds of calisthenic-based movements in a variety of ways to increase your ability to move in new, dynamic ways.

Suspension Training exercises can be broken down into three types: Double Ring Drills, Single Ring Drills, and Hanging Rope Drills.

Each type has tons of different exercises that can be performed to specifically target the upper body, lower body, and core, as well as full-body dynamic movements as well and the Onnit Academy will be releasing hundreds of exercises and routines in their database.

Liked this post? Find more free step-by-step tutorials, in addition to our complete programs, at goldmedalbodies.com. Visit our site for more information on how to use bodyweight skill exercise to improve your strength, flexibility, and body control.

The post 7 Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises For Core Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.