Should You Do Box Jumps In Your Workout?
Should you do box jumps in your workout?
Or better yet… should you do plyometrics in your workout?
Over the years this questions has come up at EarthFit Body-Mind Transformation Center a bunch of times.
People see trainers doing box jumps or see or hear about their friend doing box jumps at another gym and ask, “Can we do box jumps? They Look fun”
In this video you will find out if box jump and plyometrics are right for you.
“Hey! So should you do box jumps in your workouts? Yes or no? Well this video is specific to help you find out the answer to that… watch this video and at the end I’m going to have you do a test to determine if you should be doing not only box jumps but plyometrics and I’m going to get into the science of what a plyometrics is so if you are doing it, It will help you reduce your injury and increase your performance. The first thing we want to talk about is what the end goal is because every single program should just be base on working backwards from what the end goal is.
In our training facility one of our missions is to help working professionals get into optimal health and fitness in the safest, fastest and most effective way based on efficiency, burn fat and gain lean muscle. Now, safety is one of our number 1 things. When you get into plyometric movements, the risk goes up and the reward for what our goal is goes down a little bit. There’s better ways to optimise that type of training to get the reward. There’s progressions of plyometrics so I’ll demonstrate some of those shortly as well and you can test yourself out to see if you are ready to do even those basic movements.
First thing, you gotta ask yourself is “Do I move correctly?” when I do something as simple as a squat or a pushup. If you are not moving correctly then you are opening your chances for injury and if you are not absorbing the force it’s going to end up in your joints and that is where deterioration comes down. So the science, there’s 3 phases to a plyometrics – the eccentric downward, the amortisation phase which is the in between (the eccentric and concentric) and then the concentric. So that would be for box jump. You go down, and then up and then you jump on to the box and when we go down we are actually tapping into an elasticity into our muscles so it stretches the muscles and the amortisation phase is in between the concentric phase which is the upward motion and for you to tap in to the stretch shortening cycle of the muscle which is where the elastic energy is created on the downward motion and then on the upward motion, in between there’s a very small amount of time and it’s a fraction of a second and if you miss that fraction, it’s no longer a plyometric, right? because you are not tapping into that elastic energy in the muscles.
What is your goal? Are you an athlete? So athletes really benefit from this so the risk is worth the reward because they are going to get more explosiveness, they’re going to jump higher, they’re going to be able to push faster if they’re playing football and they’re a lineman, they’re going to be able to push harder so it’s very very powerful exercises in training for athletes. Now if you are not an athlete… Is it going to be extremely beneficial for you? Well, that’s the question that you need to ask yourself so now we are going to go out the floor (please watch the video) Can you tap into that stretch-shortening cycle, can you just jump and land correctly right? Because plyometrics are meant to be seen and not heard. What you will see is people jump and boom! All that force gets dissipated into the joints so if I don’t land nice and soft then all that force creates heat in the joints and your are now wearing down the joints rather than strengthening the muscles in the plyometric exercise so you’ll see if I go down and up and jump and land nice and soft, that is how you want to land, you want to absorb the force. If you can’t do that and you can’t do a few reps of that most likely you should not be doing box jumps because this is the very basic. I’m just jumping up and down.
If you want to test yourself right now and again with every exercise especially plyometrics you want to be fully warmed up so you do warm up before this is can you do:
- 5 squats with 60% of your body weight within 5 seconds. Alright, so you are calculating out your bodyweight, you are putting 60% of that on you and then doing 5 squats really fast within 5 seconds. Again if you don’t have a proper form on the squat, don’t attempt that.
- And then the other one is can you do 5 clap push ups in a row. Can you do 5 clap push up. If you can’t then you should not be attempting plyometrics. You need to regress back and start with basic strength and conditioning and so we’re talking about endurance training, strength training, hypertrophy or hypertrophy then strength and then power plyometrics and that takes phases of training to get somebody there.
So, I hope you found this helpful. If you have any comments or question, go ahead and leave them below.”
Never Skip Leg Day (New Research)
Hey EF Fam,
If you are already an EFer, then you know every day at EarthFIT is leg day and there is a method to our madness based on science and research for exercise programming that give maximum results to both the body and the mind in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible.
Here is the latest research on how skipping leg day impacts your genes, mitochondria and neurological health.
It is a quick read and I think you will find it interesting.
When you skip leg day, it is pretty serious.
So my recommendation is not to do it 🙂
Committed to your success,
Ian
Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.
Beaufort Exercise: What’s Your Excuse?
Beaufort Exercise: What’s Your Excuse?
Hey EF Fam,
Have you ever felt unmotivated, uninspired or have you ever gone through some type of crisis and you weren’t sure how your were going to get out or make it through?
Well… I filmed Dr. Sean Stephenson on Facebook live giving a presentation called “What’s Your Excuse”.
Dr. Sean is 39 and about 2 feet tall and his parents were told he wouldn’t live more than 24 hours when he was born.
Today he is therapist and helps thousands if not millions of people all around the world to be inspired and over come hardship.
In this video you will no longer have an excuse to not work out 🙂
Also… at the end of the video he gives his top 3 tips for overcoming a crisis.
Committed to your success,
Ian
Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.
Alyssa EarthFIT Testimonial Beaufort Personal Training
Alyssa EarthFIT Testimonial Beaufort Personal Training
“Before EarthFIT, my life included a lot of migraine headaches, I weighed 217 Lbs, I was out of breath doing just about anything. I actually went to a rheumatologist because I had so many aches that they thought I might have lupus or some sort of other autoimmune disease because everything hurt including my hands, my feet, my back, my joints and every aching pain in my body. I even had pains in my teeth and so I went through a whole series of blood test and everything else, and they ruled everything out except they said that my weight was causing most of my issues and they said that I needed to gain strength in my muscles and so I knew I had to do something.
I came to EarthFIT because I didn’t really know anything else to do. I was trying to do things on my own like walking and doing some exercises at home, but it just wasn’t doing enough and so I came here and decided to see what it would do.
The results here have been significant weight loss, but more so than the weight loss has been a severe amount of energy. I can do just about anything from the time I wake up to the time I go to Bed. I feel strong, I don’t feel like when I’m doing things I don’t get fatigued like I used to. I don’t feel pain when I’m trying to accomplish tasks like when I’m doing anything from mowing the grass to doing things with my kids even in swimming from the pool with them, carrying them up the stairs, even putting them in the grocery cart, doing the grocery shopping, simple tasks like that, even standing at the stove cooking dinner, everything is much easier. The confidence level has gone through the roof, when I look at the mirror I feel strong and I feel healthy, I feel good about myself and since I’ve been here I feel like it’s changed my life.
I was very skeptical about EarthFIT, I really didn’t understand how the program worked, I was very self conscious about it, because when I walked in the door I could see all these people doing these exercises I never pictured myself being able to do. It was very intimidating to me when I walked in the door. I never pictured myself being able to do deadlifts with kettlebells, trap bars and then pull-ups and all these things. I just couldn’t have pictured myself being able to do them and so once I got into the program and it was so personalised for each individual person and they start you at such a slow pace and work with you and your level and get you into the program and work you into each individual exercise and work with your strengths and weaknesses that it really builds your confidence with each exercise and before you know it you’re doing things that you never knew you could do.
I definitely would recommend it [EarthFIT]. I think any person of any age, of any fitness level can walk in the door and have a program developed specifically for them, even if you have a shoulder injury, back, knee injury, if you’re overweight, underweight, whatever it is I think they can work with you and get you strong and get you healthy.”
Ankle and Hip Mobility/ Flexibility
Ankle and Hip Mobility/ Flexibility
MOBILITY VS. FLEXIBILITY
Mobility
- Increase in muscle and joint temperature
- Increase in range of motion
- Active stretching
- Should be performed before workouts
Flexibility
- Lengthening of soft tissue
- Passive Stretching
- Should be performed after workouts
ANKLES
Dorsiflexion
- Angle between shin and top of foot
- Lack of dorsiflexion is one of the biggest problems that hinders lower body movements
- Lack of dorsiflexion can be from tight calf muscles, inflexibility of the ankle joint, or tight Achilles
–How can I improve my squat to get lower?
- Improving your dorsiflexion will allow you to get deeper into your squats without shifting your weight to your toes.
–Why can’t I keep my heels on the ground when I perform a lunge or squat?
- Without adequate dorsiflexion in your ankles, once you reach a certain depth you will not be able to get further without your weight shifting from your heels to your toes.
–What can happen if I don’t improve my dorsiflexion mobility/flexibility?
- Your performance will suffer, and you will have a greater risk of pain and/or injury.
HIPS
- Complex parts of the body
- Ball and socket joints
- Perform Flexion/Extension, Abduction/Adduction and External/Internal Rotation
–Why can’t I get to 90 degrees on my squat?
- If your hip flexors are tight, your hips will not be able to get close enough to your chest.
–Why do I have pain in my inner thigh when performing a low lateral shuffle?
- Having tight hip abductors/adductors will make it difficult to achieve a low lateral shuffle position which can lead to pain in the inner thigh area.
–What can happen if I don’t improve my mobility/flexibility in my hips?
- Just like in the ankles, without proper mobility/flexibility your performance will suffer, and your risk of pain and/or injury will increase.
Ankle Mobility/Flexibility Drills
- Dorsiflexion Stretch
- Foam Roll (Soft Tissue)
- Active Calf/Achilles/Ankle Joint Stretch
Hip Mobility/Flexibility Drills
- Knee Grab
- Under the Hurdles
- Over the Hurdles
- Fire Hydrant Away From the Body
- Fire Hydrant Toward the Body
- Pigeon Pose
- Hip Flexor/Quad Stretch
-EarthFIT Coach Steve
Daily detox and nutrients (Chlorella)
Daily detox and nutrients (Chlorella)
“Alright, so in this video I’m talking to you about something so powerful that I think everybody on earth should be taking it everyday and the reasons being is it’s just an unbelievable super food. Now, this has been studied (the product that I’m talking about right now which I’ll get to) has been studied for almost a century now. In the 1950s there’s a study on children who took this supplement and children who didn’t take this supplement and what they found was the children who took this supplement and I’m speaking about “Chlorella” and specifically in this test it was chlorella growth factor. The children who are on this supplement (it shouldn’t be supplement, actually food) It’s considered a food but we talk about is a supplement in this box. The children who are on the chlorella growth factor grew taller, their palette formed better, they looked healthier and stronger like physically and that is what I’m going to get to when we speak about the 7 proven and researched ways that chlorella can benefit you. Now, I’m such a believer in this because my wife took this all during the pregnancy and I’ll tell you the reasons why and my son has been taking this ever since he was born and one of the reasons being that study but also because of the other benefits that I’m going to speak about.
When we talk about protein really, what we’re talking about is amino acids. And amino acids are there is 21 amino acids that make up a full protein. Now this is a considered an algae. This algae has one of the best make ups of amino acid that you can get from non-meat and it provides about 16 grams of protein per ounce plus you are getting zinc, magnesium which we’ve spoken about, iron, vitamin B3, B2, A. Pretty much you are getting the necessary recommended doses from chlorella. So it is extremely powerful when it comes to just giving you the nutrients you need. But, the most important part which I’m going to get into and most people speak about it is the fact that it detoxes the body. And before we talk about detoxification, it something that everybody should be conscious of all the time now we are exposed to toxins. If you have been vaccinated, if you eat fish, if you’ve lived in a city, if you’ve drank from a city water, you want to be taking chlorella because this prevents the toxins from going deep into the tissue, it will absorb the toxins, carry it out as well as remineralize and give you the amino acids that you need. So now if you are detoxing, you want to make sure that you go slow with this because you don’t want to detox too fast because that will also cause a problem. Now that’s one of the things that it does now on top of that because of all the benefit that it has, it also supports your immune system. It’s a little bit of a blood thinner so it helps get nutrients and circulation going, it also promotes weight loss. This is something that’s been studied and proven as well and then like I mentioned before with the children, it made them look healthier and stronger. This also makes the person look and feel younger.
So the research is continued to reveal that this slows down the ageing process because you are getting the necessary nutrients that you might be missing and again this goes back to why gut function is so important and so as it improves your immune system as well, it helps you fight off cancer. It raises the immune system to fight off any infections or cancer cells that are now building in the body.
The last thing is it lowers your blood pressure, and cholesterol so I would highly recommend chlorella. I can go on and on about this supplement. The biggest thing that I want you to take away from this is that you are getting a lot of the nutrients, protein mixture, good amino acids plus vitamins and minerals that most people are missing nowadays and on top of that it’s detoxing the body of impurities that you want to get rid off, we want to continue to get rid off and as you’re exposed to them continue to take and that is why I recommend chlorella everyday.
Now the last thing that is very important is where you get your chlorella. This has been tested so Sun – Chlorella, I’m not affiliated with them, I don’t get anything from this, I do use Sun – Chlorella, my son uses it. There’s also a clean chlorella, another supplement that I’ve read from Mike Adams from natural news. He gets it from Taiwan because the chlorella that is created in China or made into a supplement in China, even though it’s organic it’s still taking impurities from the air. What they found out is even the organic chlorella is sometimes contaminated with this heavy metals from the air. So Taiwan had the cleaner air, it had organic chlorella, the impurities were the lowest. So Sun- Chlorella and the Taiwan clean chlorella are one of the best ways to go when it comes to buying this supplement.”
Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.
Beaufort Health and Fitness: Neck and Shoulder Program
Beaufort Health and Fitness: Neck and Shoulder Program
Hey! What’s going on? Here’s a video that will help you reduce neck and shoulder pain. As you can see the neck and the shoulder are connected so a lot of times they are affecting one another and there’s a lot of muscles, tendons and movement going on in these areas and if you are not moving properly, it can exacerbate the issues. So, what we are going to do is we are actually going to hit every single joint across the neck and the shoulder to increase mobility proprioception and activate the muscles that you might be missing, stretch some of the tight muscles, strengthen some of the weak muscles, and then therefore eliminating pain just through movement and a lot of times that’s all it takes just activation of these movement patterns.
So we are going to get started right away, we are going to start in the neck and then move into the shoulders.
The first thing that we want to do is now stand with good posture. We are going to raise our shoulders up. Open our arms, get into our normal anatomical position, drop our shoulders and now we should have good posture.
And we are going to start with 4 repetitions of each movement.
- Now the first one is going to be neck side to side so we are moving within a good range of motion that feels comfortable and each time you can increase the range of motion slightly. And now we are going neck, chin to chest and head back and as we raise we are not pushing back, we are kind of pushing up and back to stretch the front of the neck.
- This time we are staying in this position, the only thing that is moving is our neck and we are going ear to shoulder back and forth. And as you do this, I want you to start focusing on your breathing , breathing through the nose in through the mouth.
- And now we are going to turn our head to the left, bring our chin down to the shoulder and all the way across and repeat… and Relax.
- Now we are going to do full neck circles all the way around in every aspect, think about your neck. Go nice, slow and controlled, still breathing and now change directions for the other side. Reconnect with your body, use this time to think about all the joints. A lot of times it’s just a lack of mental connection to activating these muscles.
So now that we have loosen up the neck, we are going to start to go into the shoulder that’s also connected with the neck.
- So we are going to bring the shoulders up to the ears, forward and then backward all the way. (Big shoulder rolls and deep breaths in) And change directions…
- Now we are going to raise the arms straight up in the air and reach as high as you can, deep breath in, exhale and reach even higher, reach and extend the arms as high as you can lifting the ribcage up. And now from here, we are going to drop one hand down and reach out far to the side and now we are stretching the lats that connect to the humerus there and now we are going to reach the other side and again deep breaths in… fully stretch the lats as far as you can. If you can, try to even feel the hip to get the whole chain. This is going to help loosen you up for the next one that we are going to do here.
- And now we are going to interlaced the fingers and we are going to go back and forth, stretching a little bit deeper to the shoulder and the scapula here, we get range of motion in the shoulder that you might have not done. What you can do actually is gently push back with your head if you can get into that range of motion as you pull the elbow into the head. And just from this point right now you should start to feel all the joints loosening up.
- And now we are going to do single arm circle and we are reaching up and turning the hand as we rotate looking at the fingers. We are looking at the fingertips here… really reaching down, back… now change direction thinking about all the movements, thinking about your shoulder if you are doing it correctly you should start to feel a burn in your shoulder, that’s the tendons and the muscles that we are working and having been used in a while. Now we are going to switch arms, forward arms, again we are reaching up, forward, down and back… changing and rotating the hand as we do it. (Deep rotations). Change direction.
- Alright, the next thing we are going to do is take a deep breath in, you are going to open up your arms wide, you are going to spin and rotate the shoulders back come in and then back into a big arms circle, rotating the arms backward, bringing the palms up and in and back around.
- Now we are going to do both arms, big circles… change direction. You should really start to feeling this in the shoulders and the neck.
- And now we are going to gently slap the body and now opening up the arms, using the scapula think of your scapula as you do this. Alright, we are almost done.
- Here the last few we are going to do. Arms straight up in front of you, now you are going to raise them up and down using the scapula as you raise up and down.
- And now elbows to 90 degrees, open the arms up and down.
- The last one like you are pulling a band behind the back and then you’re going to squeeze the shoulders together as you pull back so let me show from the back we are pulling, squeezing the shoulder back and again pulling, squeezing the shoulders back one last time.
Alright, so there you have it. Now, we just activated every joint in full range of motion. You should feel loosened up, you should now have more increased awareness from the brain to the muscles around your neck and your shoulders. So, there you go eliminating pain the first step is just getting the body moving in the right scenario. So this should help you eliminate pain for your neck and your shoulders. It’s recommend that you do this daily for at least 3 weeks to see real results occur because it takes that long to make the neuro connection for these muscles if they have not been activated previously or for a long time.
So, this is Ian Hart. I hope you enjoyed the neck and shoulder program and I’ll see you on the other side.
Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.
Prevent The HUMPBACK (Rounded Shoulders)
Hey EF Fam,
I find that almost everyone can benefit from increasing their thoracic mobility.
As sedentary lifestyles, cell phone addiction and toxicity/neurotoxin issues increase, it creates a perfect storm for poor posture, rounded shoulders (Protraction) and humpbacks (hyperkyphosis) and tight thoracic spine (midback).
The implications for this are beyond what most people might think.
If your posture is suffering then your thoughts will suffer. If your thought are low then your will feel low. If your posture is poor then your mechanics will be poor. If your mechanics are poor then you will end up in pain or injury at some point.
Do everything your power to maintain, improve posture and prevent the hunch back and a tight thoracic area. Here is a simple program that you can do to increase thoracic (Mid back) mobility. This will also improve shoulder function as well as the way your thoughts are processed.
I created a video for you as a solution.
You can do this pretty much anywhere.
If you don’t have any of the equipment handy, you can do the exercises that do not require any equipment and still get amazing results.
Watch the video here
The body works as a connective chain and we should see:
- Thoracic Mobility
- Lumbar Stability
- and Hip Mobility
But what we tend to see is:
- Thoracic Stability
- Lumbar Mobility
- and Hip Stability
creating a formula which can lead to lower back pain.
We already have an internationally successful formula to help stabilize your lower back and mobilize the hips called Back Pain Relief4Life
But thoracic mobility is a missing link to even greater results.
So, for that reason, I created the THORACIC MOBILITY PROGRAM
Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.
EarthFIT Testimonial | Jennifer P – “It’s quick, it’s efficient, it’s safe, and you’ll…
EarthFIT Testimonial
“I would highly highly highly recommend this program to anyone. Like I said, I’ve tried so many programs in a lot of different cities, most recently Boston, and I don’t think anybody has achieved what they have achieved here and what EarthFIT has achieved here in Beaufort, South Carolina so I feel like we’re really fortunate to have this kind of program here and I highly recommend you try it.
It’s quick, it’s efficient, it’s safe, and you’ll feel so incredibly good at the end of it. You feel amazing and you see the results and you… it’s not only physically seeing the results, but definitely mentally as well. You just feel better all over and again I highly recommend it.
Before I came to EarthFIT, I had tried a number of different gyms over the past 30 years, a lot of different programs and I’d love to mix it up. I did the crossfit thing, I felt strong but ended up hurting myself pretty significantly and knew I couldn’t go back to that but I had trouble finding a program that had great intensity that I could have fun with and still see a lot of results. You see results immediately to your body. I love to come here, you’re walking into a friendly environment, everybody knows your name, you get a nice greeting. It’s clean, it’s organized, it’s almost personal training and an environment where you can work of one another’s energy and push one another in the class. It’s personal training, because the trainers they know what you’re capable of as an individual, when to push you, when not to push you, they’re constantly on you for your form and you know, keeping you motivated.
I haven’t experienced a program that’s so quick, efficient, fun and you felt like you weren’t going to get hurt because that’s always a fear I think with anybody doing intense workouts and trying to change the body that you know fear of injury and here I really believe the trainers are so knowledgeable and they clearly have the great deal of experience and have gone through an intense training program themselves to understand exactly how to make this program as amazing as it is.”
NANO supplements (Game Changers)
Hey EF Fam,
Did you know that you can now supplement in Nano particalized form?
Nano particalized means that the supplement gets absorbed directly by the mucus membranes and go straight into the blood stream for utilization. The three supplements we carry are from the highest quality nanoceutical company called Nanoceutical Solution which specialize in Nano Methyl B12 Vitamin for Energy/Allergy/Brain Health, Nano Vitamin D for Immune support and bone health and Nano Glutathione.?
?Many people do not know what Glutathione is and how important is it for every function of the body.
“Glutathione has been called the master antioxidant and it is a primary detoxifier, critical to every cell in your body. It is a tripeptide composed of three amino acids: cysteine, glutaminic acid and glycine. Glutathione is considered by many experts to be the most important antioxidant produced by the body. Nanoceutical Solutions proprietary system delivers nearly 85% of each dose directly to the blood stream through the mucous membranes of your mouth, making it one of the most effective ways to boost glutathione available anywhere.
- Helps to remove Toxins from the Body.
- Critical for recharging other Antioxidants in the Body.
- Glutathione Deficiency Linked to Various Diseases.
- Helps to Alleviate Oxidative Stress.”
?See more info on the benefits in the info graphic below.
(You can purchase it HERE?)
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YES! Contact me today to schedule a FREE no obligation consultation and trial workout.