July 26th Training Session

This was a tough, tough session that will now stand as one of our benchmark workouts. A real test of fitness and grit. We had four guys in fantastic condition out for this, and every one of us left it all on the field.
The workout was comprised of four circuits (though more were added on at the end for good measure). A lower body circuit, an upper body circuit, a core circuit, and a Battling Ropes circuit. Each circuit had four stations.
We used the Tabatas and thus spent two 20 second rounds at each station in the circuit. After two rounds we'd move onto the next station until we had completed them all. Then the entire circuit was performed again before we could move onto the next one. Here's what the circuits looked like, as written in my clipboard:

And, yes, we performed the bonus circuit! In addition to all of this, we spent lots of time with the tornado ball. In addition to the traditional slams to either side of our body (of which we did several sets), we also did several where the ball traveled from our lower left side to our upper right (and vice-versa) in a wood-chopping fashion.
While this was going on several of us also worked wall ball shots.

The next day everyone reported in that they were definitely feeling it - but that's a good thing! It means it works! Too often traditional gym exercises haven't challenged us enough, but that was definitely not the case with this workout, which we have dubbed The Castle.

July 23rd Training Session

Jeff and Kim joined us today, and each new day brings a new (and equally challenging) training session.

Let's get down to it!
We started off with shuttle runs. Two markers were placed on the field (with the end of the field being the third). We ran to the first one and back, then tagged the next person in line. This continued through the next two markers and really got a good sweat going. We were going at about 70-75%.
The same basic drill was then performed again, but this time we used athletic skipping instead of running. The sweat really started to pour!
After that warm up we worked on boxing combinations. New, unfamiliar combinations were worked in sets of ten, followed by punching at various speeds. We always keep an emphasis on proper form and learning how to generate the most amount of power possible.
Moody then lead us over to the brick wall, where we performed twists with the tornado ball. As always, the ball has to touch both sides of the wall for one rep. 30 reps were performed for multiple sets. This was Kim's first time with this drill and she did awesome!
Wall ball was next, and we each worked 20 wall ball shots, again for multiple sets.
Next it was over to the climbing equipment, where we did a pull-up tutorial. It was Kim's first time working with pull ups, so with a little assistance from Moody we started her 'greasing the groove' process. You'll be out pulling us all in no time, Kim!
I worked with Jeff and taught him how to perform windmill pull ups and, for lack of a better term, pulls across. Both work the upper back in very unique ways, different from traditional pull ups. Other drills done in this section of the workout included knees to elbows and windshield wipers. Very challenging for even a well-conditioned mid section.
Then we performed a mini circuit. 5 hammer pull ups, immediately followed by 5 dips. We did this circuit 5 times. During this time Kim worked on upper body strength exercises taught to her by Alayna. Even when she's not there her presence is still felt!
We finished off the workout with three 2 minute rounds of boxing. The first and third rounds were straight combos, while the second round was all defense and body shots. Did I mention we did it moving up a hill?? Always fun to mix things up a bit! The body never knows what's next!
We finished things off with a couple more sets of knees to elbows.
This was an intense session, run with very little equipment. I'm sure we were all feeling it that night!

July 22nd Training Session

Today we had Derek, Moody, John, Alayna, and (other, yet differently-spelled) Jon out for the workout. We wanted to get in lots of work with the ropes, and boy did we ever! Once again we did several different variations on the classic wave, and made Derek use the 50 ft. rope for most of it. Tabatas were used to keep pace and they did a number on us! We also did upright rows, and overhead presses with the ropes. It may not sound tough, but just try it!

Another impressive feat was John doing rope pull-ups. We strung the 16.5 footer over a goal post and the two Jo(h)n's cranked out rope pulls.

Other work with the rope included horizontal and vertical pulls, which are one of the best possible ways to work grip strength.

Once we had done our time with the rope, we headed over to the jungle gym to do some circuits. We cranked out several sets of a circuit that involved rope pull-ups, hammer pull-ups, dips, push up, and squats.

Then it was onto the wall, where we took turns slamming the medicine ball (on the end of a rope) against either side of our bodies. This is a tremendous way to work those oblique muscles, but at the same time you're working that grip strength, yet again, and testing your own endurance. 30 reps at a time (the ball has to hit each side for one full rep), 4 sets each.

Derek came to us wanting to do some fight conditioning, and that's exactly what he got. We strapped him into the harness and Moody threaded resistance tubing through it and took a hold of the other end. We fired up the Tabatas once again, and Derek was charged with striking the pads on his feet (while Moody provided ample resistance from behind) for 20 seconds at a time, then he had his 10 second rest to transition to the floor bag where he worked for another 20 seconds. Moody provided plenty of resistance the whole time, and I think it's safe to say that Derek was wiped! Hopefully we didn't scare him off!

July 20th Training Session

Tonight was all about the ropes! Kim attended our last group class, and was still feeling it in her legs, so we decided to go primarily with upper body work tonight. Along for the ride was her friend Suzanne. Always great to have new people come check out a workout. Here's how it went down:
Tabatas with the Battling Ropes
- Moody and I worked with the 50 ft. rope, and the ladies worked with the 16.5 ft.
- We alternated rounds, meaning that for every 20 seconds of work you got a 30 second break. This was done so as to ease Kim and Suzanne into the world of battling ropes.
- We worked multiple sets of rope waves with two different grips. We did alternating waves, as well as both arms working together to really put some stress on the core.
- In between sets of waves, the ladies performed Tabatas with medicine ball twists. Every round they changed direction to make sure the punishment was evenly distributed.
- After the waves we did two 2 minute rounds of shadow boxing, just to loosen up our upper bodies and get rid of some lactic acid. The rope work tends to give you a tremendous upper body pump, and we wanted to ensure that wouldn't affect their mobility.
- We then moved onto shoulder raises with the 16.5 ft. rope. This exercise may look easy, but do not kid yourself, it is tough. We each did two sets of 12 reps.
- We then leaned back on the ropes and worked on rowing ourselves back to an upright position. This exercise was specifically introduced to the ladies' routine to strengthen all of the muscles necessary for pull-ups. Kim really wants to be able to do pull-ups, and this is a fantastic way to get her prepared for it. These rope drills, combined with the 'greasing the groove' technique should have these ladies doing killer sets of pull-ups in no time!
- Since we had built up that lactic acid upstairs again, we decided to finish off the night with two more 2 minute rounds of shadow boxing. We threw punches at a variety of speeds, just to really work out the kinks in the upper back/shoulders/biceps/triceps. As you can imagine, the rope made us all very sore! But who wants a workout where you get home and feel like you didn't do anything?! Your body's supposed to feel a little sore afterwards. It means we're doing our jobs right!

SPAR-Fit in the News!

Last week, Matt Katz from The Torontoist joined us for a group workout and wrote about it for the website. Click here to check out his thoughts on his first workout with us! It's a great read and we want to thank Matt a lot! Hopefully we'll see him out for another session soon!

July 18th Group Training Session

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." - Longfellow

Tonight's group training session started under cover of cloud. Undaunted, we pressed forward with smiles on our faces!

Before the group arrived, Moody and I test drove the new Battling Ropes. Wow! We are so thrilled to have discovered this amazing, yet unheralded, training method before a lot of other people. We thrive on unique ways to train the entire body, and this does just that. The entire body. Not just the forearms and the grip. You will definitely feel this one head-to-toe after just a few minutes. I'm still feeling it now!




























When the group arrived, we were thrilled to see some of the girls back from last week, and gladly welcomed in a few new faces. After a brief introduction we took to the track. I set the pace and the group followed suit. We switched between athletic skipping, sideways shuffling (both sides), and backwards running. Just one lap to get us nice and warm! After a full-body stretch it was onto the workout:
Striking drill; straight punches, hooks, body shots, and knees were thrown in crazy combinations at different speeds.
Sets of animal walks; human, bear, crab, duck. A shuttle run (human style) was performed in between each set of the animal walks. Walks (and runs) were performed in groups of three.









Crunches; five styles, 25 reps each. I think it's safe to say that everyone was feeling the burn.

Tabatas; alternating rounds between squats and walking lunges.

Tabatas; 4 rounds of push ups, 4 rounds of mountain climbers.


















































































At that point the sky started to rumble (okay, it had been rumbling for awhile) and the rain really started coming down so we called it quits. And just when we were starting to have fun! Despite the early wrap-up, we still got in a good 45 minute workout and we were all sweating and feeling it by the end. The attitude of the group was amazing, and they put in a fantastic effort despite the drizzle and grueling work. Guys, without your enthusiasm none of this would be possible. We hope to see these group sessions get bigger and bigger, because the bigger they get, the more fun we can have! Anyone wanna play Gaga??

Coming Tonight to SPAR-Fit...

Making their much anticipated debut @ tonight's training session, I present to you
Battling Ropes!

Oh it may look simple and easy on the body, but looks can be very deceiving. Check out the videos and read some of the testimonials.

This is going to be fun!