FitFunCamp - Adult Fitness Program

On Saturday, May 30 Team Xcelerate offered a FREE FitFunCamp (adult) and Youth Athletic Development class in Destrehan, LA at the East Bank Bridge Park.

Coach Phillip Glotser had the kids working out in one area learning how to jump and land, cartwheels, hops to cones and several other fun activities.

While the kids were having fun the adults were on and around the basketball court going through a rigorous workout which included a circuit of Squats, Lunges and Reverse Lunges all 10 times each followed by Core exercises which included Front Pillar Holds, Reverse Pillar Holds, Pushups and running in place in between each Core exercise. They also performed wall push-ups and tricep dips using benches at the picnic tables.

The program ended with the adults and kids enjoying some group activities using color patterns. Each adult paired up with one or two children and hopped, skipped or ran to various colored cones on command.

It was a great way to start our Saturday.

Keep an eye out for more FREE Saturday classes from Team Xcelerate and/or join our 7 week Summer Fitness program starting on Sunday, June 7, 2009. FitFunCamp and Youth Athletic Development programs will be offered. Contact teamxyg@gmail.com to learn more.

capoeira!

Yes, indeed! The weather cooperated and we were able to get an introductory capoeira workout under our belts Thursday evening. What the heck is capoeira? Only the coolest thing since sliced bread! ;-) If you want to full story, Google (or Wiki) it... but the long story short that it's a beautiful blend of martial art and dance that was developed by African slaves in Brazil and spread like wildfire all over the world. It also makes for a killer workout. It's staples are strength, balance, control, coordination, flexibility, endurance... you know, all those important things? I was drawn to it when I first saw it, and had a chance to train for a few years in a capoeira club at Tulane. Now I get to spread the goodness, starting with our last class :-) I introduced a couple of the basic movements and how to link them together. However, there was A LOT I could not show... such as the defensive movements, the music that controls everything, the playful interaction of an actual "roda" or game. So, to make up for what I could not demonstrate, here's a small collection of good videos from the web to show you what I mean (enjoy):

A slow game but really what a capoeira ANGOLA should look like:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2023414402

A slightly faster but another good, clean game:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1446009/capoeira_angola_palmares/

Basic moves intro (Angola and Regional styles):
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/349890/capoeira_basic_moves/

Street game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvVmDvKIBE




Hyper-dramatized but ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL:
http://fr.truveo.com/Capoeira-Girl/id/1837428320

equipment

I decided to deviate every so slightly from my usual 'minimalist' approach and pulled out some 'toys' for the station work we did yesterday evening. Specifically, I brought a Powerbase and an agility ladder. The other two stations used cones for jumping (on grass) and skipping/shuffing (on the track) drills. We 'rested' between the sets of stations with several ab exercises. But there was actual rest, too, within the station rotations. I actually did not specify that recovery, waiting instead until everyone was ready to go. This was not a cardio intensive session. Instead, form, posture, coordination, and precision of execution was the focus. On the Powerbase, we worked exclusively on the shoulders with front and lateral arm raises on minimal resistance. On the ladders, we went through a set of hopscotch hops and lateral quick feet shuffle.

It was mentioned in passing that someone enjoyed 'cardio-boxing' or similar type training. Thus, I intend to teach some capoeira on Thursday. Don't miss it!

2 in 1

Sorry folks,
I can say that I've been busy with classes ending and studying for finals - which is true - but it is no excuse for not having spent a couple of minutes to blog about the great workouts we've been having. I apologize. But let me catch you up...

On Tuesday evening (April 28th), we alternated between forward motion drills on the track and a couple of strength drills on the bleachers. I set up a series of cones on the track, such that for each exercise, we can do a drill cone-to-cone at high intensity, then easy to the next cone (recovery), then high intensity again to the next cone, then recovery again, and so on for a total of 4 intervals of high intensity. The exercises themselves were a combination of old (previously done) drills such as skips, lateral gallop, and toe-up/calf-raises combos, and new variations like cross-over skips and leg scissors. The cross-over skips are actually new to my repertoire, and I really liked them. In addition to working everything the regular skips do, the cross-over skips really incorporate the midsection (the core, the imfamous abs) into the motion, while still being relatively easy and pretty fun to do. On the bleachers, we did pulsating supported squats and one legged (Bulgarian?) squats to get us started, and then went up and down the bleachers several times via two-leg explosive jumps on the way up and jump-down-into-a-squat on the way down. Great set of that!

Thursday (April 30) - the most challenging workout yet, or so it seemed to me based on the tired expressions I saw at the end!!! Everything was done in the privacy and comfort of our little area by the scoreboard. But we don't need much room to work ourselves into a great shape. The session consisted of pure interval training. We started off with four exercises (arm swings, clap-hops, CC-skiers, and Russian twists) that we did 4 x 40 seconds with 40 second recovery. The next two drills (bicylces and squat thrusts) we did for 20 seconds at a time, 6 times, with a 20 second recovery. The last set of drills (mountain climbers, squat hops, and Superman holds) we did for 10 seconds at a time, 8 times, with 10 second recovery. Talk about a solid workout! Despite some pessimistic/negative talk, which I tried to discourage, everyone had a great session.

**** Me - for anyone interested in what your humble (?) coach is doing nowadays, read on through this section of the blog. With school ending and finals approaching, I've been very selective with my training, choosing to do only quality workouts while taking more days off than usual to rest and recover. Tuesday I rested. Still recovering from the 10 miler on Saturday and a barefoot 2 miler on Sunday (painful blisters from that). Wednesday I actually shouldn't have run, but my friend talked me into doing a moderate 8 miler, which felt much more exhausting than it should have and I know why - it's starting to heat up outside and we did this run early in the afternoon. That means it's time to start getting acclimated to the heat. That brings me to Thursday... one of the most challenging workouts in a while. The plan called for 20-30 quarters. I ended up doing 24 of them. The fastest at 77, slowest at 84. Half a lap recovery jog between the first ten, jog/walk recovery for the next five, walking only for the next five, and holding-my-knees-til-I-can-pull-myself-together-for-the-next-one recovery for the last four. Had to stop because my feet were killing me. Time for new shoes, I think, and an x-ray ****

Hope everyone is at least aware of the challenges for the week. If not, SEE THE PREVIOUS BLOG entry. Got an AB challenge coming up on Saturday, and since everyone (myself included) secretly wants great abs, don't pass this one up. Do your crunches, sit-ups and such. Challenge yourself, challenge your friends, challenge your neighbors. It might sounds a little crazy, but being great in anything, including being in great shape, takes a little (just a little) craziness :)

Happy training, and I hope to see you all (and your friends and family...bring 'em all out) on Sunday.

~P.G.