Dangerously Fit

Dangerously fit is about to roll out a fun and intense new group fitness class, Parkour! You may have seen parkour in action, and haven’t even realized it, in movies such as the 007 flick, “Casino Royale” or “District B13″. Parkour is the art of efficiently moving and interacting with one’s environment, and it is physically and mentally demanding!

Parkour requires it’s practitioners, known as “traceurs” to quickly, powerfully, and efficiently navigate their environment using techniques such as vaults, jumps, and various wall scaling techniques. A traceur uses their trained body, imaginative mind, and courageous spirit to turn their whole world into a playground! I can’t take credit for the following video, but I feel it illustrates nicely what parkour is all about.

Parkour training can be appropriate and adapted to the abilities of nearly anyone, regardless of age or current physical condition, and is an incredibly fun way to get or stay in shape while pushing physical, and mental limits.

Times and locations in Tucson, AZ for these outdoor workouts are still being considered. If you are interested and would like to recommend a convenient time, please feel free do do so in the comments below.

I’ll let you in on a little secret… I don’t like to do sit-ups. I do them, and I have my athletes do them, because they are a good exercise, but I don’t enjoy them. I have a hard time finding an application in my day to day life where the movement behind a sit-up translates directly to my day to day activities. Plus, I just plain find sit-ups to be boring.

Considering that the words “core training” are a staple in fitness magazines and gadget informercial sales pitches, you may be wondering what kinds of “core” exercises I enjoy doing, and suggest others do as well. Obviously, since so many people are talking about training the core, it must be important, right?

Lets first start off by discussing what the core actually is. Continue reading »

Next week, our good friends at CrossFit by BodyFit begin their second 100 Day Burpee Challenge, and Dangerously Fit is down! Starting on Day 1, August 7, 2009, all participants will do 1 burpee. On day 2, they will do 2 burpees, and so on until day 100 when all participants will complete a workout with 100 burpees!

This challenge will test your body, and mind, and only the strong will survive! If you are interested in joining BodyFit during this challenge, no matter where you live, then check out their website and contact Kevin with any questions. If you live in California, near Hemet / San Jacinto, get in touch with him, you won’t find a better trainer and a nicer bunch of folks to work out with. If you are in Tucson, AZ, and want to get in on the burpee love, let us know. I’m thinking it will be fun to get together every so often with a bunch of people to keep motivated, kill some burpees, and maybe play a game of dodgeball or something afterwords, maybe at Brandi Fenton Park, Reid Park, or Riverfront Park, but I’m open to suggestions.

Not sure what a burpee is? Here’s your answer.

Again, check out CrossFit by BodyFit for more info, and also subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up on what we’re doing here in Tucson.

Bicep curls, lunges, bench press, chin ups… There are thousands of exercises out there, so how do you decide what exercises to work on when just starting out? Largely, the exercises you choose will depend on your goals. However, if your goal is to get stronger, I have 5 exercises for you to consider adding to your routine. These 5 exercises form a solid foundation for strength training, and in fact are useful for other fitness goals as well. I’d go so far as to say that everybody, regardless of age or fitness level would benefit from performing these exercises regularly. So, what are these exercises, and why are they the best? Continue reading »

With summer in full effect right now it is imperative to make sure you are keeping yourself properly hydrated during your workout. Many people don’t consume enough water, and this can be dangerous during any exercise, but all the more so during the summer months. Being dehydrated will make you fatigue earlier, and lead to loss of coordination. In fact, performance can decrease with as little as 2% of body weight loss due to dehydration.

So you are determined to get the most out of your workout, train safely, and stay healthy. How much fluid do you need to consume in order to keep the perils of dehydration at bay? There are a few simple rules of thumb to follow. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading »