Brunos Fitness

Mireille Ghantous:

First I would just like to say, Mireille is a very vibrant and free spirited person. She has a heart of gold and I am happy and honored in being her personal trainer.

Her hard work and her dedication is paying off. Her results are well above average. She has lost over 3 inches off her waist line in the past 2 months.

She has also really improved her fitness results. For her strength she was barely able to do 3 push-ups 2 months ago, she is now doing 14 full push-ups.

Her cardio has improved immensely, it is taking her longer to get fatigued. Her recovery heart rate has drop significantly in the process.

She is keeping her diet in check and that commitment is going to pay of big time. I only see Mireille getting better and better results in the weeks to come.

I see a fitness model in the making. Congrats Mireille!!

Measurements:
Before After
Weight: 66kg/ 64.6kg
Bodyfat: 32.8/ 27.4
Hips: 40.5/ 36
Waist: 29.5/ 29
Thighs: 19.5/ 19
Calves: 12.5/ 13.5
Biceps: 10.5/ 10.5
Chest: 36.25/ 35

If you don’t have access to a track, or need the cardiovascular challenge without the impact on your legs, rowing is a great solution. It takes roughly the same time to cover distance in running and rowing, so workouts can be easily transferred.

Rowing is like running in that you are in complete control of the intensity. To get a faster running time, you have to make yourself run faster. To get a faster rowing time, you need to make yourself row faster. This means using your legs, back/core and arms to generate as much power as you can.

The Workout

Workout Goal
Simulate a track workout without the pounding.

Workout Details

1. Row easily for 5 minutes to warm-up; get off and stretch briefly if you want to.
2. Row 2 sets of (4 x 400m) as follows:
1. Row 400m at moderate intensity.
2. Row easily for 1 minute.
3. Repeat for a total of 4 400’s.
4. Row easily for 3 minutes.
5. Repeat for another set of 4 400’s.
6. Row easily again for 3 minutes.
3. Row easily for 5 minutes to cool down.
4. Stretch.

High vs. Low: What Drag Factor Works Best?

It is important to note that, unlike weight lifting, the goal is not to use a higher drag factor as a means of achieving fitness on the indoor rower. It is much better to work with lower drag factor settings (110–140) while improving your speed, form and muscle coordination. Many of the world’s top heavyweight competitors use settings in this range.

Damper Setting & Workout Intensity

The best damper setting for a great cardiovascular workout is in the range of 3–5. Rowing with the damper setting too high can be detrimental to your training program because it may reduce your output and increase your risk of injury.

Workout Intensity

* The damper setting is like bicycle gearing. It affects the feel of the rowing but does not directly affect the resistance. With a little experimentation, you will find the damper setting that gives you the best workout and results. We recommend a damper setting of 3–5 for the best aerobic workout. This is the setting that feels most like a sleek, fast boat on the water. Higher settings feel more like a bigger, slower boat.

Anaerobic Threshold

What is the anaerobic threshold?

The anaerobic threshold (AT) (also called the lactate threshold) is the level of exertion where your body must switch from aerobic metabolism to anaerobic metabolism. Aerobic metabolism burns oxygen and produces carbon dioxide as a by-product. Your lungs provide the oxygen and get rid of the CO2. This is the metabolic pathway that provides most of the energy we use in our daily activities. Anaerobic metabolism kicks in when the preferable aerobic system can no longer keep up with the demand for energy—when we cross the AT. At this point, the lactate cycle starts to provide the needed additional energy, burning stored sugars for fuel, and producing lactic acid as a by-product. When lactic acid builds up in our bodies, it causes discomfort like cramping and general distress.

Can training affect the AT?

Yes. Through training, we can have some effect on our anaerobic threshold. We can train our bodies to be more efficient at aerobic levels so that we can go longer and harder before the anaerobic system kicks in and starts hitting us with lactic acid. In other words, we can train to raise our AT.
What is the best kind of training to do to raise the AT?
It is generally agreed that you need to do high quality aerobic work to improve your aerobic efficiency and thus raise your AT. This means training at a level close to but below your present AT. Based on our own experience, we recommend (see box above) workouts that are long sub-maximal intervals, with roughly equal rest.

How often should I do AT training?

This will vary from person to person and may depend on your present level of conditioning; how often you train; where you are in your training year; and how old you are. AT intervals should be done at least once a week during the 2-3 month period before your competition. The fitter person will be able to do these more often, but it is still important to allow recovery time. Older athletes may find the recovery to be slower than it used to be. Listen to your body.

About the Core Muscles:

There are hundreds of muscles in the core of the body – the abs (all layers), lower to mid back, upper pelvic region, the obliques and the world famous ‘love handles’ areas are loaded with muscles of all different sizes, shapes, lengths and angles – which require specific core exercises to produce the desired core strength training effect.

What is amazing is, these core muscles are all so close together, some of which are layered – meaning muscle behind muscle. And if all of these core muscles are worked out properly with the right exercise program and workouts – it is not a question of “Will I be able to get a great core?” but a question of “When will I have my great core?”

Unlike 97% of core fitness workouts that are in existence, the best core workout, is designed to provide a training stimulus to every single muscle in the body’s core a with the right exercises.

The upper, middle and lower core – the love handles – the obliques – the lower and mid back areas (avoiding these will not only prevent you from ever getting killer abs, but can lead to serious injury – this happens EVERY DAY to people who try to exercise without proper guidance – & it is one the reasons why physical therapists are so busy!)

The best core workout does not rely on big expensive fitness machines or silly exercise gadgets.

It does rely on the body itself, its natural movement patterns and how the muscles of the body work in relation to gravity. This means the ideal core workout can be done anywhere, anytime.

A big mistake many people, even trainers, make is to mimic the core routines of bodybuilders or powerlifters. The problem with that is most people are not bodybuilders or powerlifters – and these people tend to overtrain anyway (I know this because I used to do it myself!). The problems here range from a lot of wasted time to serious, long term injuries.

Core Exercises:

Side Bridge

Lie on your side with your forearm on the floor under your shoulder to prop you up, and your feet stacked. Contract your core and press your forearm against the floor to raise your hips until your body is straight from ankles to shoulders. Hold for 15 to 45 seconds, then repeat on the other side. Contract your abs and butt muscles forcefully to keep your body straight.

Plank with Diagonal Arm Lift

Assume a modified pushup position with your feet shoulder-width apart, forearms on the floor. Keeping your torso steady, raise your right arm for-ward and to the right, so that it points to 2 o’clock. Hold for 2 seconds, then lower and repeat with your left arm, raising it to 10 o’clock. That’s one rep. Your elbows should be bent 90 degrees and directly under your shoulders.

Single-Leg Lowering

Lie on your back with your legs extended straight up. Keeping your legs straight, lower your left leg until your foot is 2 to 3 inches off the floor. Return to the starting position, then repeat with your right leg; that’s one repetition. Think about pushing the bottom of your heel away from your hip as you lower your leg. Don’t point your toes; keep your foot flexed toward you. Lead with your heel.

Swiss-Ball Knee Tuck

Assume the pushup position with your shins resting on a Swiss ball, hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Keeping your abs tight, draw your knees toward your chest until your toes are on top of the ball. Slowly straighten your legs so the ball rolls back to the starting position. Lift your hips as you bring your knees toward you so your shins rise off the ball.

Cable Kneeling Chop

At a high-pulley cable, grab an end of rope with each hand. Go down on your right knee, with your left knee pointing toward the weight stack; this is the starting position. Rotate your torso away from the stack as you pull your hands to your chest, then down and away from you. Reverse to the start. Keep your torso upright as you extend your arms away from your body.

Glute-Bridge March

Lie with your knees bent and your arms and heels on the floor. Push down through your heels and squeeze your glutes to raise your body into a straight line from knees to shoulders. Next, bring a knee toward your chest. Reverse the move, then repeat with your other leg. That’s one rep. Don’t allow your hips to sag at any time during the movement.

Ankle weights are a commonly found weight used in many activities. Further from the core, fixated above the ankle around the lower shin and Achilles tendon, due to leverage much less weight is needed to increase the forces on the body.

As they are attached to a region with a far smaller diameter than the thigh, there is not room for much weight without greatly changing the effective width of the lower leg. An advantage over thigh weights is that they are not attached to any major muscle or fat storage region, so tightness is not a factor and it can be used in almost any exercise.

Being above the ankle, movements incorporating the calf muscles such as calf raises can benefit from ankle weights.

Ankle weights are useful in adding weight to pull-ups and dips, especially when incorporating leg raises into the movements. They are also useful in slow kicking katas, and static-active stretching of the legs when balancing on one leg, or suspended in the air.

Light ankle weights have a history of use resistance for kicking in swimming, and of forward flexion in kicking, walking, jogging, and sprinting exercises. Concern has been expressed regarding this type of training. It may put too much stress on the joints, similar to the shearing forces found in leg extension and leg curl exercises.

Practicing weighted movements at high speeds also causes the nervous system to fire at larger intensities. If an individual loses the weight without being trained to adapt to the transition, he may overexert himself without checking at the end of the movement and overextend a tendon. This is more of a risk when people fully extend their limbs in such movements and do not come to a controlled stop at the end, limiting muscle flexion. Generally, the muscle being extended is more at risk, not one held statically. For example, the quadriceps muscle could overexert in a snap kick trained with ankle weights, but in a rising kick, it is the hip flexor muscle more likely to overextend. In either case, the hamstring and associated ligaments would be at risk for a tear.

One major advantage to ankle weights, unlike wrist weights, is that it adds a whole new component to exercises that wrist weights do not, since we can’t grip dumbbells with our feet like we can with our hands. It is a major advantage in training rotational hip stabilizers, to work on turnout for martial arts and dance postures. To do this, the leg is bent 90 degrees at the knee, and then rotated inwards and outwards to bring the foot upwards. This is commonly seen in footbag kicks and holds.

One major disadvantage to ankle weights is the ankle weight adds stress to ligaments in the knees and ankles. For this reason, it is advised to not run while wearing ankle weights.

Myth: Using hand, wrist or ankle weights increases exercise benefits
No. It’s not uncommon to see walkers and joggers carrying hand weights or wearing Velcro weight straps around their ankles or wrists. If it’s crossed your mind that these ‘fit bods’ are probably getting more benefit from their sessions than you are, don’t worry — they’re not!

Wrist, hand or ankle weights aren’t heavy enough to provide any strength training benefits. In fact, they decrease your activity gains by slowing you down and messing with your natural walking rhythm which raises your risk of injuries. So it’s probably best to give them a miss.

Don’t Wear or Carry Weights When You Exercise

Wearing ankle weights will not help you to run faster or longer, or jump higher. Training is specific. To run faster in competition, you have to run fast in practice. Ankle weights slow you down because they interfere with your coordination and make you work much harder to raise your knees. To train your muscles so you will be able to run longer, you have to run faster or for a longer time. The heavy weights will tire you earlier so you will not be able to run as fast or as far.

Using ankle weights won’t help you to jump higher, either. To jump higher, you have to strengthen your leg muscles in the same way that you would use them to jump. When you wear ankle weights, you strengthen your leg muscles for lifting weights off the ground with your feet. When you jump, you raise your body off the ground. To help you to jump higher, you have to raise your body up against resistance. You do this by doing leg presses or squats with heavy weights on your shoulders.

Ankle weights can also increase your chances of being injured. Since they force you to lift a much heavier weight when you raise your knees, they strengthen the quadriceps muscles in the front of your upper leg without strengthening the hamstrings in the back equally. This can make your quad muscle proportionately so much stronger than your hamstrings that you are prone to injury. The same principles apply to carrying weights when you walk or run, or wearing weighted belts or other devices. Strength training should be done using weights with proper form in specific exercises, and should be kept separate from your aerobic activities.

The Dangers of Exercising with Ankle Weights

The additional effort that goes into exercising with ankle weights can actually make you weaker and more prone to injury. Ankle weights cause added stress to joints, especially the knees. Torn ligaments and pulled muscles in the calves, thighs, and ankles can also be caused by exercising with ankle weights. According to the Mayo Clinic, walking with ankle weights changes how a person normally walks. This destabilizes balance and increases the risk of tripping and falling. People with preexisting orthopedic problems should definitely avoid using ankle weights.

An easy rule of thumb to follow is that ankle weights and aerobic exercises do not mix. Although ankle weights seem perfect for running and walking exercises, many health experts agree that walking with ankle weights is a risky activity.

The Benefits of Exercising with Ankle Weights

Many trainers and health experts will agree that while ankle weights can seriously damage your knees while running, they are great for resistance training exercises. Ankle weights are a valuable piece of resistance training equipment that work particularly well with leg lifts. These exercises benefit from the extra work needed to lift the weights without applying unnatural stress to the joints. Aside from leg lifts, ankle weights can improve the effectiveness of pull-ups and bicycle crunches. Proper usage of ankle weights will strengthen muscles and help burn more calories without causing too much stress on the joints.

A safe choice for using ankle weights is to combine them with exercises done under water like water aerobics. Water ankle weights will continue to force the body to work harder; however, there is far less risk of harsh stress on the joints.

Caution with Exercise Routines

The best advice when it comes to using ankle weights and all exercises in general is to err on the side of caution. If the ankle weights cause any aches and pains, it is a sure sign that it is time to rethink their use. To be safest, consult a doctor about using ankle weights before employing them in a workout routine.

Supersetting is an advanced training method in which you do two exercises, one after the other, with no rest in between. The exercises can be for the same muscle group or two different muscle groups, depending on your goals. The idea is to do one exercise and, instead of resting and doing another set, doing a different exercise and alternating those exercises for your desired number of sets.

The Benefits of Supersets

It’s a good idea to change your strength workout every 4-6 weeks to avoid plateaus, and supersets offer a great way to completely change what you’re doing.

Supersets help you by:

* Saving you time. Going from one exercise to another without rest will make your workouts shorter and more efficient.

* Increasing your intensity. If you choose supersets that work the same muscle, but with different exercises, you’re adding to the intensity of your workout.

* Overloading your muscles. By working the same muscle with one exercise right after another, you can overload your muscles without using heavy weights. This is great if you don’t have a spotter or don’t want to lift very heavy weights.

* Making things more interesting. If you’ve been doing straight sets forever, supersetting can make weight training more interesting and definitely more challenging.

* Easily set up a workout. All you do is pick two exercises, either for the same muscle or by using some of the other ideas listed below, do them one after the other. Rest and repeat!

* Incorporate more variety into your workouts. You don’t have to do exercises for the same muscle group. You can do opposing muscle groups or even two complete different parts of the body.

Types of Supersets

1. Pre-Exhaustion Supersets. This involves two exercises for the same muscle group. The first exercise is an isolation move, which targets one muscle group, and the second is a compound movement, which targets multiple muscles. Example: Leg extensions, which target the quads, followed by squats. The quads are tired, but the other muscles used in squats (glutes, hamstrings and inner thighs) are fresh.

2. Post-Exhaustion Supersets. This is the opposite of pre-exhaustion. You start with the compound movement and follow that with the isolation exercise. Example: Bench press followed by dumbbell flies.

3. Compound Superset. This is a tough way of training since you’re putting together two compound exercises, requiring more energy and strength. Remember, compound exercises are those that work several muscle groups at a time. Example: Squats followed by lunges.

4. Isolation Supersets. In this type of training, combine two isolation exercises. Example: Dumbbells flies followed by a cable crossover.

5. Opposing Muscle Groups. When you do two exercises that target opposing muscle groups, one muscle gets to rest while the opposite muscle works. You can pair back and chest, biceps and triceps, hamstrings and quadriceps, etc. Example: Biceps curls followed by triceps kickbacks.

6. Staggered Supersets. In staggering, you do an exercise for a different muscle between sets. For example, during a straight set of chest presses, you could throw in a set of calf raises or crunches while you rest your chest muscles. This saves time, allowing you to work smaller muscle groups while the bigger ones rest.

7. Tri-Sets. This is the same as a superset, except you’re doing three exercises rather than two.

Obviously, there are many choices for setting up a superset workout.

To see it in action, check me out in the video below performing a Opposing Muscle Groups superset

How to do them:

* Stand about one shoulder width from the box. The box should be between 1 and 2 ft high. Start with your legs fully extended and let your arms hang relaxed. Keep your abs tight during the entire exercise, (slightly contracted) and stand as upright as possible. If you are a gymnast, you can also to this with the arms extended over head, like if you were preparing for a static handstand. (see handstand tutorial)

* Do a half-squat and keep your upper body as upright as possible. Try not to strike out with the arms too much. (a small arm strike is OK though) Bend your knees between 30° and 45° Don’t sit down too far. Don’t rest in the half-squat position. You have to jump off immediately. That’s what plyometrics is all about. It should feel like if you were letting yourself fall into a half-squat position and then bounce off and jump onto the box.

* Jump onto the box. Extend your legs and your ankles. Keep your abs tight and your upper body as upright as possible. (head up) Don’t whip your trunk. You can swing your arms a little, but the strength should come from the legs. If you do the gymnastic box jump variation with the arms extended over head, then keep your elbows fully extended and the finger tips as high as possible.

* Land as soft as possible. The balls of the feet touch the box first. (not heels first)

Important Tips:

* Do 10 to 25 repetitions. (a few sets) The box jump is an exercise for reactive leg strength, and not an endurance exercise. Typical pulse for this exercise 150 bps.

* Don’t forget to stretch your quadriceps.

* Stop if knees or your achilles tendon hurt.

* The box jump is the ideal exercise for gymnastics who are seeking higher flips.

To see it in action, check me out in the video below performing a Box Jump.

Sanaa Baalbaki

Sanaa has been making great progress so far in her personal training sessions.
She has lost over 2 inches on her waist line in a matter of 4 weeks.
She has a very positive mind frame.
She uses the words fuck, shit, and shut the fuck up a minimum of 50 times in a single session.
She is a inspiration to us all!!

WAY TO GO SANAA!

The most important thing to always remember. Is to get abs to show in the first place, is to attain a low body fat percentage. If too much body fat is covering your ab muscles, no definition will show.

Try to perform the following exercises 2 to three 3 a week either before or after your other weight lifting exercises or on the off days, you’ll be well on your way to improving the looks and strength of your abs and core muscles.

*Remember: To really zero in on the ab muscles that you’re working, think about and feel the contraction take place.

Aim to maintain about 30 seconds of rest between sets, completing 3 to 4 sets of each of these exercises.

Leg raises

To do leg raises without equipment, lie on the floor on your back. Keep the lower back in contact with the floor and place hands to sides or under lower back for support. Lift legs upward as far as possible. Lower down to starting position slowly and with control. Make sure back stays flat on floor and abdominals are tight. The exercise is easier if legs are bent, harder if legs are straight.

The prone ball roll

The prone ball roll-outs are another great movement for targeting the lower abs as well as the hip flexors. To perform these simply place the feet up on an exercise ball while the body is face down towards the ground. While in this position you want to be balancing on the hands which are placed directly below the shoulders.

From there, slowly roll the ball in towards the body until you’re in a fully contracted position. Pause for a brief second at the top and then extend back out again to complete the rep. Note that this one may take a bit of practice to get your balance right on the ball so don’t give up if you struggle at first. If you keep at it, it won’t be long before you’re seeing the full benefits.

Exercise ball sit-up with a dumbbell

Regular exercise ball sit-ups are a great way to fully stimulate the muscle fibres in the abs, but for many of you, it’s no longer challenging enough. To up the intensity of this movement, add a dumbbell behind your head.
By placing it behind the head rather than over the chest as many people do with decline-weighted sit-ups, you lengthen the distance from the weight to the core, really adding to the difficulty.

As you move through the exercise, be sure to focus on the bottom half of the movement as this is where the muscles are extended the most, which will force them to contract harder.

Russian Twists On An Exercise Ball

Russian twists on the ball are an interesting exercise that is commonly forgotten about. To perform these lie again with the middle of the back against the ball but this time you want to hold a single dumbbell directly above you with both hands.

Once you’re balanced, slowly rotate the body (and dumbbell) to one side while keeping the arms fully extended.

After you’re as far as you can go while maintaining control and balance, lift back up to the starting position and then begin to twist to the other side.

*Also Note

The abs are one of the quickest-adapting muscle groups in the body, so it’s vital that you’re always trying something new to take them to the next level of development. Remember that one of the most critical elements to a successful ab routine is to always maintaining a focus on those ab muscles to prevent other muscles from helping out with the action.

I am very happy and excited for all you girls. Your achievements and results are out of this world. You destroyed your fit tests and your measurements where astonishing to say the least. I look forward to the months to come. I am very proud of being your trainer.