6 Reasons You Need to Lift Weights [Infographic]

People are unaware just how important it is to move external objects with and around their bodies.

Enter resistance training!

I’ve had so much success with my clients just by adding in a little resistance training to their routine a few times a week. This doesn’t need to any type of marathon lifting workout. In fact, when you’re just starting out (or just starting back up!) you shouldn’t do this.

You need to implement safe exercises that will allow you to build strength and body control that lead to long term success. Starting this way will allow you to avoid injury, begin seeing results, and help you stay on the path long term. Your goal should not be to have your legs so wobbly by the time you leave that you look like a drunk newborn giraffe.

Implementing 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps of exercises like deadlifts, bent over or chest supported rows, front rack squats, seated or standing presses, lunges, or flies (and the list goes on) using dumbbells or kettlebells will be a great place to start in the beginning.

Be on the lookout for our new resistance training program for beginners, coming soon. Sign up for the newsletter to be notified when we release this program!

If after reading the infographic below you decide you’d like to begin your journey into lifting weights but aren’t sure where to start and are located around the Hastings, Ne area, schedule a free trial workout with us so you can have a professional show you the ropes. (If you’d like video analysis of technique just note that in the message box)

Sometimes the best way to get started is to just get started instead of waiting around for the perfect moment for all the stars to align.

Schedule your free trial workout HERE

How to Workout When Short on Time

I hear it all the time, "I don't have time to workout!!"

I know it may feel that way, but I promise we all have time. We HAVE to do this to operate at our highest levels for our family, friends, or community. We don’t always have to do a huge 90 minute workout for it to be beneficial.

Something is better than nothing and often times we may find ourselves with little more than 15 minutes. Well, after this episode, that won’t be a problem for you any longer.

In this episode I'll tell you:

1. How to MAKE the time.

2. How to use that time effectively and not waste it on less effective exercises.

3. What type of workouts, implements, and movements to get you IN and OUT!

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Avoid Douchebag Shoulders, Lift More & Move Better. [WORKOUT]

I've noticed an alarming trend in athletes & gym goers.

I have noticed a bit of a trend when it comes to new trainees and even veterans in the world of training and lifting. It begins when a young man or woman enters the gym and decides to put together their own program with no knowledge of strength & conditioning principles.

They develop less than optimal workout structure, avoid necessary corrective exercises, avoid things they're bad at, and do the EXACT same routine everyday. They don't understand the importance of having a balanced and functional body. They are only concerned with aesthetics.

The funny thing is, if you have a balanced and functional body, you will have an aesthetically pleasing physique! (I’ve got a workout at the bottom of this post to help solve this issue)

They go into the gym and try to do things they’ve seen in a magazine or on tv once. They have no idea what they are doing, how to do it, or if what they are doing even works. They are plagued by a lack of guidance in their early gym days.

They lack guidance on exercise selection, proper workout routine structure, how to balance their bodies, or how to truly get results.

This can be overwhelming at times and if this isn’t enough to cause the athlete to drop their new fitness habit like a hot potato, they continue on with less than optimal routines, exercises, lack of corrective exercises and results. Eventually developing injuries, pain, and a progression towards the loss of health.

The issue described above leads to a trend of too much pressing or pushing, (bench, military press, chest flies, incline bench, push ups) and almost no pulling! If you are doing a ton of pressing in the gym, you need to counteract those effects with pulling movements.

The lack of pulling causes an issue affectionately known as DSS or Douchebag Shoulder Syndrome. We all know someone that has the gorilla-esque shoulders pulled forward and internally rotated. They can barely get their arms overhead and have never attempted anything in the gym other than you guessed it, BENCH BRO!! Cause GAINZ right?

Nobody wants to have DSS. It leads to poor posture, pain manifesting in multiple different places in the body(shoulders, neck, low back, knees) and last but not least, INJURY. So just going to the gym and doing whatever you feel like is not the way to go.

In honor of this I’m rolling a new option for those unable to come train personally with me at the Enlightened Athlete HQ gym. This is an online option delivering elite programming directly to your inbox for less than most people spend on coffee every month!

Let somebody who has put the time in, experimented and tested multiple methodologies, and led many clients to success do the work for you.

All you have to do is SHOW UP!

There’s limited spots so DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS! Shoot me an e-mail today at Info@enlightenedathlete.com to learn more or get signed up ASAP.

I want to provide you with a workout to combat all the chronic pressing I see in gyms today. To do this I created a workout aptly named “Pull Your Face Off”. So without any further delay ladies and gentleman I present to you the Pull Your Face Off workout!

Hit this workout and let me know what you think!

Holiday Travel At Home Workouts!

Travleing for the holidays? Worried about losing gains?

Hit these workouts to keep the #GAINZ train rolling! (Demo videos for each)

This is the perfect video and post for this time of the year. If you’re traveling for the holidays, your entire routine is thrown out of whack. You don’t have the gym to go to, they may all even be closed over Christmas. These times are when you need quick, effective workouts. Quick warm up, less than 20-minute workout, and end up a little bit more fit than when you started.

We’re all human and sometimes you just require a day to recover mentally and physically. Nothing wrong with that BUT, here’s where I see people fall off. One day becomes three, then a week, then months. You can’t let daily excuses completely derail your health and wellness.

Maybe you travel for work all the time or are traveling for the holidays. You still gotta get it in though, right!? This is where having a functional body and at home workouts come in super friggin’ handy!

Not having time to hit the gym is no longer a valid excuse, you will not accept it in your life. That’s how you start to see the results you want to see.

As luck would have it, your body is a superb fitness machine all by it’s lonesome. Can you guess where I’m headed with this?  That’s right; at-home workouts! I’m going to give you three at-home workouts that will be 20 minutes or less. So, no excuses that you haven’t the time to crush a workout.

These are going to be workouts that will not only burn fat but will help you build muscle. So no matter what your goals are, these workout will keep headed to the fucking mountain top of success!!

If you enjoy these workouts, you'll love everything inside of our best-selling program Complete Athlete Formula. Take a look at what the program is all about HERE and grab it for yourself to start seeing results and changing your life.

Sign up for the weekly newsletter to stay up to date on all program releases, blog posts, new videos and exclusive content! Sign up HERE

Let’s dig in!!

Workout #1

10 squats, 8 burpees EMOM 11

In this workout, you will complete 10 bodyweight squats and 8 burpees both inside of one minute. The time remaining will be your rest until you begin round 2 at the top of the next minute. So, every minute you will complete 18 reps. Make sure your squats are below parallel and you open your hips all the way at the top. If you can’t get through all 8 burpees in one minute, reduce the number of burpees until you have 10 seconds of rest at the end of the minute.    This workout is an ass kicker for sure!

Workout #2

Every 2 minutes for 12 minutes (6 sets)

18 V-Ups, 20 reverse lunges, 15 push-ups

So the structure of this one is complete all the prescribed reps within two minutes. The remaining time will serve as your rest. As soon as the two minutes is up, you immediately begin the second round. On the V-Ups you start lying face up on the ground with your arms overhead and feet together. From there you will try to raise your legs and arms up together at the same time and touch your toes. Really fight to get your shoulders off of the ground and not just bring your legs up to your hands. On the push-ups your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders. 

Workout #3

5 rounds for time

12 Bulgarian split squats, 15 lying leg raises, 15 Hindu push-ups, 15 squat jumps

This workout will be done working through the entire round and then immediately starting the next round without rest until 5 complete rounds have been completed. Score your workout with time completed and next time you retry it, see if you can beat your old score! Check this video for the explanation of this workout with movement demos!

Thanks for watching! Good luck with these, if you hit them let me know what you guys think by dropping a comment or hitting me up on facebook or instagram. 

If you know somebody who would enjoy these share this with them and challenge them to beat your score!!

Much Love,

Shae