The Fitness Guru

This week we have a lower body workout with a lot of cardio intervals. The music is heavily ’80’s, with a little ’90’s thrown in for flavor.

Download it, try it out and let me know what you think.

Remember, the podcasts are for you. Let me have some feedback so that we can give you the best possible workout!

Click away!

The response to the Personal Training Podcasts has been terrific!! You all seem to be getting into the idea of CyberTraining 1.0.

This week’s workout is a focus on upper body work with some cardio thrown in for fun! It’s 55 minutes from soup to nuts! Give it a whirl.

This week’s upper body focus is a result of a request for an upper body workout. It’s that simple. Ask me and I’ll make it happen. Also, let me know what soundtracks you want. If you want to workout to all Sinatra (hey, ya never know) tell me and I will post the podcast.

These workouts are for you! Let me know how best to shape them!

And the Winner is…..

It was a very difficult process. So many of you submitted great entries. But after dozens of entries, some hand wringing and debate among our judges, the winner of the First Annual Guru Makeover is…….

Christine Barker of DUMBO, NY!

Stay tuned for updates on Christine and her fabulous makeover.

And thank you to everyone who entered!! We are going to have lots of other great contests in 2010, so stay tuned!!

Podcasts

So a few brave people have tried the new Free Personal Training Podcasts and the feedback has been fantastic. It’s so easy to use. Download the podcasts from our ever-expanding library HERE, add the podcast to your iPod, and come into the Guru for a workout with your Cyber-Trainer. Michael will guide you through a variety of workouts with an eclectic mix of music and various workout times! Check it out now and catch the wave!!

The Fitness Guru is going to be offering FREE Pilates Mat Classes in Brooklyn Bridge Park every Tuesday evening through the Summer, beginning July 7th!! Come and join us for a terrific workout at the base of the Beautiful Brooklyn Bridge. Sign up is at 6:30pm with the Class starting at 7pm on the dot!!

The Countdown To Class!!

No dates present

We finally have the Cardio-Strength Circuit Podcasts available for download right HERE. For those of you who don’t know about the Circuit, it is a wonderful idea thought up a couple of decades ago by my good friend, Joel Kaye: spend just a few minutes on each piece of equipment and in a quick hour, you have worked your body in every possible direction. Of course, we have added our own spin to the Circuit idea, including the Podcasts.
Now you can download an hour long workout right onto your iPod. Bring your iPod to the Studio and you are ready to rock!! You get an hour of music and instruction on how to use the Circuit to your best advantage. It’s like having a persona ltrainer right there with you.

Give the Podcasts a try and then let us know what you think. LEt us know what other sorts of music you want to hear, and what other workouts would light up your fitness life. We will make it happen.

Enjoy and Rock On!!!

No, it’s not a ski run. It’s what I do when I’m strapped for time and I want as solid a workout as possible. Here’s how it works:

1. First, I start with 5 minute warm up on the elliptical machine.
2. Next, I choose five exercises, A thru E.
3. Each exercise should work a different body part: legs, arms, abs, etc. I will also add a cardio vascular exercise like Mountain Climbers or Jumping Jacks
4. I start with one set of exercise A. Then I wait 30 seconds. Then I do exercises A and B. Wait 30 seconds. A,B and C. And I continue on until I have A,B,C,D, and E.
5. Now I start with E. Wait 30 seconds. E,D, wait 30 seconds. And all the way back to E,D,C,B and A

Each Diamond should take about 15 minutes to complete. If I have 30 to 45 minutes to workout, I will do two Diamonds back to back. And the great thing is that I can keep changing the exercises from Diamond to Diamond so that I never get bored.

It is a high intensity workout so be careful and patient the first time out. But give it a try and you’ll find the Diamond is a fun, creative way to make the time fly by in the gym.

Check out this podcast debunking (fun word) some fitness myths.

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

Great podcast, I’m intrigued to learn more. Unfortunately, the article isn’t that clear. Can you break down an example of a Hurricane workout we could do at The Fitness Guru studio?- Animal

Ah, Animal. It is the pain of trying to capture the visuals of a magazine with the nuances of audio recording. The Hurricane is meant to shake up, stress, and push the system. It is a series of five exercises. Each exercise is performed for one minute with no rest in between. The idea is to get the entire body to work in the course of five minutes. Consequently, five variations of push ups probably wouldn’t be a good call. But you would want to mix up the exercise. Here is an example:

1. Push Ups
      a. Classic exercise for the upper body. Form is key. Try to keep an even pace as you both lower and lift. And don’t underestimate a full minute of push ups
2. Plyometric Squats
     a. With your feet parallel and should width apart, bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. In one powerful motion, spring up and jump as high as you can. Repeat for aminute
3. Treadmill Sprints
     a. On the treadmill. As fast as you can. For a minute
4. Alternating leg scissors
     a. Lying on your back with your hands behind your head and your head and shoulders lifted, lift both legs straight up to the ceiling. One at a time, lower and raise each leg, maintaining abdominal activation
5. Bench Jumping
     a. Standing on one side of the weight bench, take hold of the sides. Using your arms for support, jump over and back across the bench

I’ll have a video up tomorrow for more specific details on how to best utilize the Hurricane in your workout.

Michael talks with Adam Bornstein, Fitness Editor from Men’s Health Magazine, about The Hurricane, a high intensity workout featured in the latest issue.

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com