Dad Fitness » Barbell

5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Workout

Sean Barker — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:05:22 +0000

With the Sun hanging in the sky a little longer it naturally gives you more energy to do some spring cleaning inside and outside the house.

Just opening up all the windows in your house after the long winter months will awaken your senses with fresh new energy…

So it’s time to spring ahead with your workouts as well and clean up some of the bad habits that you may have picked up during the winter.

1. Watch Your Watch

With summer just around the corner you are probably more concerned with getting light and lean than big and bulky so sitting around for 3-4 minutes chatting with the guys about last nights game in between sets isn’t going to do anything to awaken those abs. Rest no more than 2 minutes in between heavy squats or deadlifts and only 30-60 seconds for other lifts. Supersetting opposite muscles like chest and back or bicep and triceps without any rest is also a great way to build muscle AND burn fat.

2. Movements Not Muscles

Spending 20 minutes working a muscle the size of a baseball isn’t the best use of your time unless you have Mr. Olympia trophies on your mantle. But that’s just what most guys do to get arms like Arnold. Think movements, not muscles when you workout. To work your body and your biceps try combining exercises into one motion like a lunge, curl and press or a chin-up with a leg raise.

3. Complex Cardio

Despite what the name might say burning fat isn’t so complex when you use this form of cardio. Complexes are forms of high intensity cardio that continues to put those magazine reading sessions on the treadmill to shame when it comes to blow torching bodyfat. It only takes 5 minutes to add a complex to the end of your weight workout to convince you that this is the answer to maximum results in minimum time. Use just the empty barbell to perform a series of exercise circuits without rest such as a squat, clean, press, lunge and row. Pick yourself up off the floor and repeat 3-4 times.

4. Muscle Massage

Imagine how hard it must be on your car’s engine starting it over and over during those cold winter mornings. Well that’s just how you have been treating your body all winter. Wether it’s being rushed and skipping your workout warmup or jumping out of bed to shovel out your driveway so you can get to work, your muscles need time to wake up. Dynamic bodyweight movements are great to get the blood flowing but a little muscle massage will go a long way to break up those tight spots that build up over time with improper lifting and bad posture. Use a foam roller and tennis ball to roll out those tight trigger points like your mother rolled out dough. Doing this loosens up the tissue in and around your muscles to keep you strong and pain-free.

5. Goodbye Gym

Save a month’s worth of membership and take advantage of the extra daylight while getting some free vitamin D by bringing your workouts outside. Even if you love the atmosphere of training in a dark and dingy gym, the opportunities are endless for outdoor workouts. Take a set of dumbbells to the park or do a playground workout while the kids have their fun. Sprints, sports and strongman lifts are also better outdoors. There is just something primal about lifting heavy stuff off the ground under the mid day sun.

It’s unfortunate that some guys will spend more time washing their car this spring than taking care of their body!

Use these 5 Ways To Spring Clean Your Workout so you can take care of your body and the people who depend on it…

Dr. Dad is in the House

smbarker — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:16:00 +0000

It was a restless night in the Barker household last night…

But sleep takes a back seat when I got two ladies to take care of.

Not only was our 11 month old daughter Matea up a few times throughout the night as she is teething and has a little head cold,

BUT my wife woke up with a bad headache, high fever and ended up getting sick all night and this morning.

So while I tended to my wife resting in bed I thought the best thing for today would be to let her have some piece and quite while I packed up Matea and headed over to my parents house for the afternoon. My wife liked the idea so we left and let her rest…

I did have a workout scheduled for today so while Matea was happy playing and getting her workout at Grammie’s and Grampies I headed across the street to the gym for a quick and intense Dad Fitness Workout.

I loved the convenience of growing up with that little dungeon of a gym just across the street from where we lived. I have been working out there for about 14 years and it is like having my own little gym as there is hardly anyone ever there.

Here was today’s workout.

Pushups off a fixed barbell with feet elevated on bench,3 max sets, 60 sec rest
Lying Flat Barbell Tricep Extensions, 4 sets of 8 reps
Pullups from rope, 4 sets of 6 reps
Standing DB Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 8 reps
Standing One Arm Cable Curls, 3 sets of 8 reps
Ab circuit of hanging leg raises and cross body mountain climbers

I am gonna refuel after today’s workout with my mother’s homemade spaghetti
…I couldn’t turn down her offer!… then we will head back home to take care of mommy…and maybe I will get a chance to check out the hockey game.

GO PENS!

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

The Barbell Belly Blaster Workout

smbarker — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Are you a busy dad who likes to go to the gym for a quick fat burning workout but hate encountering a crowd of regular gym goers who hog workout equipment while yapping on their cell phone?

If so, The Barbell Belly Blaster Workout is for you.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are lucky enough to have an Olympic Barbell in your home gym, you can also do this workout without ever leaving your house.

Lock Up dvdrip This is primarily a fat loss workout as it elevates your heart rate while supersetting exercises using your bodies major muscles.

But by using your major muscles you are building strength and endurance in those muscles which will also help to build lean muscle in beginners to intermediate lifters.

This is also a great alternative to long boring cardio and can be done at the end of your regular weight training workout to burn extra calories and lose bodyfat.

To increase the muscle building effects of this workout you can add additional weight to the bar but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a few years of training under your belt.

For absolute beginners who find that the 45lb bar is too much, you can use a lighter bar like the EZ curl bar which is around 25lbs or even a broomstick.

This workout only requires the empty 45lb Olympic Barbell for the entire workout so you can grab a barbell and head off to an empty corner in the gym so you can get a great fat burning workout and be free of any distractions.

You will be using the barbell to complete a Complex, which is just a series of barbell free weight exercises that you will do without rest while keeping the bar in your hands the entire time.

Perform 10-15 reps for each exercise. Complete all exercises without rest, then rest 60 seconds and repeat the circuit 2 more times.

*Warmup with 12 Burpees.

Jump down onto the floor in the bottom of the pushup position and jump back up with hands in the air reaching for the ceiling.

1A Barbell Pushup

Perform regular pushup with hands on the barbell. Brace your abs hard so that you do not roll the bar on the floor.

2A Barbell Squat

Pick barbell off the floor and press overhead and rest the bar across your shoulders. Pushing hips back squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.

3A Barbell Shoulder Press

After squats, press the bar back overhead and in front of your shoulders with shoulder width grip press the bar straight up overhead.

4A Barbell Bent-Over Row

After shoulder presses, bend over with bar hanging straight down. Using your elbows pull or row the bar up to your belly button.

5A Barbell Mountain Climber

Place bar back on the floor and get in top part of the pushups position. With abs tight hold that position while you bring one knee to towards your elbow and alternate each leg

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Weekend Workout Update

smbarker — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:34:00 +0000

My patio deck is here somewhere?

Man, didn’t we get dumped on this weekend here in Labrador. Close to 30 cm of snow fell on Friday and Saturday!

The guy living across the street wishing he lived down south!

Despite another winter blast this weekend I had a great afternoon workout today after getting to sleep in, (which for me is 8am) and having a power breakfast casserole that my wife wiped up.

It was tasty and nutritious, 8 omega 3 eggs, a couple potatoes, mushrooms, onions, spinach and cheese layered and baked in the oven for 45 mins.

Matea was with the in-laws for the night last night so my wife and I enjoyed a relaxed evening as we dropped out for a bite to eat and then we picked up a movie on the way home.

Ended up getting the new fright flick called Quarantine. It was a little too much in your face gore for me as I don’t really have the stomach for these types of movies anymore.

I kept turning the volume down thinking Matea was upstairs asleep! Really strange to get used to her being out of the house.

My workout today was Day 2 of my new workout routine, mostly lower body and some grip work. Think I am going to be sore tomorrow as I might of overdid it a little!

Box Squats, 1 max set of 5 reps
Barbell Step Ups, 4 sets of 10 reps
Romanian Deadlifts, 4 sets of 8 reps
Plate Pinch Gripping for time, 3 sets
Band Pull Aparts, 1 set of 15

I managed to get through everything without much shoulder pain as it was lower body.

On the way home I dropped into the supermarket and picked up a rotisserie baked ham for dinner and a chocolate milk for my post workout drink.

The rotisserie chickens, roasts and hams are a great option for a quick meal for you and your family for those days when things get hectic or if you are just feeling a little to lazy to cook!

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

5 Exercises You SHOULDN'T Be Doing

smbarker — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:15:00 +0000

================================
5 Exercises You SHOULDN’T Be Doing

by Sean Barker, CPT

================================

Old habits are hard to break. But if you keep doing these 5 old school exercises in your muscle building workouts you will be breaking more than old habits.

1. Leg extensions- Unfortunately this exercise seems to be the extent of most guys leg training. Probably because sitting down and pumping out reps of leg extensions are a lot easier than squatting down with hundreds of pounds on your back.

Despite the “burn” you may feel from your upper thighs when performing this exercise, it is not a very efficient leg exercise as it only isolates the muscles above the knee.

The only time this exercise has much benefit is in a rehab setting where these muscles directly surrounding the knee need to be developed for stability and strength. Otherwise opt for any variation of the free-range squat.

2. Behind the neck pulldowns- This is another exercise that I still see people doing in the gym. I cringe every time I see someone take a wide grip on the angled ends of the pulldown bar and start pulling it down behind their neck.

The angled ends of the bar are an outdated design and are not where you should be gripping the bar. This puts your shoulders and rotator cuffs in a very vulnerable position. Putting most of the stress on the shoulders and limiting range of motion away from the back muscles this exercise should be crossed off your list. Work on being able to do bodyweight chin-ups instead or at least pulldowns to the front.

3. Behind the neck shoulder press- Similar to the behind the neck pulldown, the behind the neck barbell shoulder press places your shoulder in a delicate position. It is basically the same movement but by adding additional weight to the bar and pushing up in the vertical plane you are putting your rotator cuffs at an even greater risk of injury.

With the extra weight you can pile on the bar with this exercise, trying to even unrack the bar will soon send your shoulders screaming in pain. Switch to the safer option; the front barbell shoulder press.

4. Concentration Curls- Probably the most popular bicep exercise for beginners wanting to “get the pump” and get Arnold-like biceps. It’s too bad a lot of experienced trainers still waste their time on this exercise.

No matter how many reps of concentration curls you do, you won’t get that bicep peak like the Terminator, as muscle SHAPE is genetically determined. Muscle SIZE on the other hand can be increased through basic exercises that allow a heavy weight while using many muscles instead of isolating one smaller muscle.

Standing barbell or dumbbells curls are a better choice for bicep development, but better again are close grip chin-ups, which put a lot of stress on the upper arms while working many other muscles.

5. Crunches- It would be nice if all you had to do to get that ripped six pack would be to lie on the floor and pump out hundreds of reps of back breaking crunches. Despite what the infomercials want you to believe, this is NOT true!

You wouldn’t build your biceps by doing 100 reps with no weight, so why would you think you would develop your abdominals by doing 100 crunches or more? Your abdominals primary purpose is to actually stabilize your spine and to keep your torso from twisting in half under times of physical stress, not lift your neck off the floor.

Overall, the best exercises for your abs are exercises that allow your body to use your core the way it was meant to be used: for stability and support. Bodyweight planks, and compound exercises like squats and overhead presses will work your abs better than any crunch will ever do. Combined with a clean diet you might just see those abs looking back at you in the mirror.

…OK quiz time. Do you see a trend with these 5 exercises?

They all involve sitting or lying down, (which we are all experts at already) and they work only a small section of muscle, allowing you to pump out endless reps without much effort.

For you busy guys who want to get the most out of your short fat loss workouts, stop wasting your valuable time on these old school exercises that break your body down instead of building it up…

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose Your Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

How is Your ROM?

smbarker — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:08:00 +0000

Range of Motion is Critical For Building Muscle

By Sean Barker, CPT.

If your not sure what I mean by ROM, its Range of Motion. This is the complete range of movement that you perform every exercise from start to finish.

But how many people get carried away with increasing the weight they lift only to sacrifice the proper exercise execution in which the exercise should be performed. A good many, and I admit I have done it in the past as well.

We all like to load up that bar giving us the feeling that we are super strong by slapping plate after plate onto the barbell. But doing this only builds your ego, not your muscles. It also greatly increases your chance of serious injury when performing exercises without a complete range of motion.

Increasing your poundage’s over time is the cornerstone of getting bigger and stronger in the gym. But not if it comes at the expense of doing the exercise with improper form. Whether it’s bench presses, squats or any exercise that requires you work the muscles over a complete range, people have a tendency to slowly develop bad training habits of limiting the range in which they complete the exercise.

This might enable you to use a heavier weight, but its not maximizing muscular overload it’s limiting it as the muscles are only getting half the stimulation that they should be. Plus, your joints and ligaments are picking up the slack, which is provoking injury.

Adhere to proper weight selection that allows you to work the intended muscle with your desired number of reps. Always remember that your weight should be chosen based on how well you can perform the exercise, not the other way around…

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

The Improv Workout

smbarker — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:29:00 +0000

Today I headed to the gym knowing that things might not go as planned.

My strained left thumb that I had a few weeks back has come back to haunt me.

I was scheduled to train Chest, Shoulders & Triceps today but didn’t get very far with that. As soon as I tried to warm up for Incline Barbell Bench Presses I knew it wasn’t good.

I couldn’t even stand the pressure of the 45lb Olympic bar pressing against my thumb. I then tried to salvage the workout by trying different angles with barbells dumbbells and even variations of pushups.

Gripping any bar or even dumbbells were out of this question. I could manage some back pulling exercises using a thumbless grip. Also some pushup variations were ok as long as I kept the pressure off my left thumb.

These are the exercises I managed to do with out much pain.
3 sets each 10-12 reps

Wide-Grip Front Pulldowns supesetted with
Block pushups with feet elevated on swiss ball

V-Bar pullups supesetted with
Regular pushups with feet elevated on flat bench

Rope upright rows

Rope overhead tricep extensions supesetted with
Rope cable pushdowns

I got a busy weekend of Dad stuff (birthday parties, etc.) with baby Matea so I will see how I feel as the weekend progress for my next workout.

I would give this workout 1 thumbs up! lol

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

You Don't Know Squat

smbarker — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:07:00 +0000

I had a heavy and intense leg workout today.

Started off with the ultimate leg and whole body exercise, basic barbell squats.
Everything was 2-3 sets, 4-6 reps, except for abs which I keep in the 10-12 rep range.

Focus on building lean muscle even if you want to burn fat.

Squats
BB Lunges
Stiff Led Deadlifts
Standing Calf Raises
Cable Crunches
Incline Crunches

You Don’t Know Squat – Squats Are King For Building Muscle
by Sean Barker, CPT

Most people will complain about not being able to put size on their lower body and these people are usually the ones if they even do work legs regularly; it’s endless sets doing quad extensions and half rep leg presses. These don’t even come close! You have to remember that your lower body carries half of your body’s entire muscle mass. Your glutes is also your your body’s largest muscle.

Hey, squatting is hard. Especially starting off they are challenging to learn and awkward. Then when you get up to 300, 400 lbs plus on the bar they are quite intimidating. Again, they are hard work. But this is why they are the most effective exercise for your entire body that you will ever do.

So learn to do them correctly, learn to go heavy and learn to go deep. This question had many debates of how low should you go? I believe the most effective depth for complete muscular overload and control when squatting is to go down until your quads just go below parallel. Once you master the physical aspect of this exercise, then all is left is to overcome that fear of the intense effort that is required.

Never sacrifice form and depth for a heavier weight especially with this exercise. The nature of this movement can allow some impressive poundage’s and can increase chance of injury if your form is not correct. Gradually try to add a couple pounds to the bar each week and before you know it you’ll be on your way to achieving the awesome leg development you’re after.

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

A Day Of Dad Fitness

smbarker — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:17:00 +0000

Another day of Dad Fitness is in the books.

Completed Workout C of Craig Ballantyne’s TT For Meatheads at the gym today.

I felt strong on the barbell deadlifts and pumped out good reps on reverse lunges and ab supersets. The ab circuits in this program are awesome for hitting all the muscles of your core WITHOUT crunches!

Seeing as it was a beautiful sunny day here in Labrador we took Matea out for a stroll to the local playground.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Playground Lunge

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com

Whatta Workout!

smbarker — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:06:00 +0000

Started Craig Ballantyne’s TT For Meatheads workout this morning at the gym.

Man oh man! I certainly under estimated how intense these short, bodybuilding workouts are.

Some basic barbell squats supersetted with DB shrugs started off this intense workout.

Then it was on to more leg work and ab work. The short rest periods combined with these muscle building movements had me dripping in sweat and gasping for air!

You don’t need long boring cardio to lose fat and build muscle.

I was out of the gym in 40 mins including my warmup and stretching cooldown.

Looking forward to workout B on Monday.

Remember, building muscle is all about QUALITY not quantity;-)

Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the “The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly” in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com