"The Ragsdini Best Blog Award..."

Luckisforrabbits is honored to receive this fun award from Cheryl Ragsdale, aka "Ragsdini", the creator of www.thatgirlisfunny.com, a wonderful blog that's loaded with "fun stuff" and various "Adventures in Living a Healthy, Juicy Life". This "award" is a fun way of spreading the word about blogs that you love to follow.

Now it's Mr. Funner's turn.

Here are "the rules": to accept this award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted you this award and a link to his/her blog. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs you've discovered and think are terrific! Don't forget to contact the bloggers you’ve awarded to let them know they’ve been chosen. Kind of a goodwill-blogging-chain-letter award-thing...Here are fifteen favorites in no particular order:


Fitness and Health:

www.jasonferruggia.com
Jason Ferruggia runs Renegade Gym in New Jersey and is a well known strength and conditioning specialist. His site is loaded with interesting articles, anecdotes and terrific training tips. I highly recommend his book, "Fit to Fight" for anyone interested in improving their strength and endurance.

www.rosstraining.com/blog/
Ross Enamait is truly one of a kind. His site is so full of amazing articles, videos, and training information I would need to spend about an hour writing about it to do it justice. Check it out and you'll see what I mean.

www.gubernatrix.co.uk/
Sally, aka, "Gubs" has a terrific site dedicated to strength training. I'm guessing she's one of the strongest women in England! (that is, with a terrific sense of humor) Her site is also completely loaded with TONS of great stuff.

www.fitnessblackbook.com/
Rusty Moore has another wonderful site...loaded with interesting articles and lots of different opinions on what it means to get fit. Good stuff!

www.fitnessandspice.com/
Joanna Sutter is the author of Fitness & Spice...I just started following her blog and love it. She's also one of the moving forces behind BLOG-4-CAUSE, a collection of articles written by 150 bloggers to support breast cancer research. A brilliant and wonderful idea. She makes it into the LIFR (luckisforrabbits) Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Hands down. Go visit her...

www.catapultfitness.blogspot.com/
Susan aka, "Suz" has a terrific blog that not only informs but answers question about fitness, nutrition and weight management. Susan always has a terrific outlook and something worthwhile to say.

www.smoketheblowfish.com/
MikeZ, aka "Smoke" is "a guy I know in Chicago", as I like to tell my sons. Be forewarned, Mr. Smoke D. Blowfish doesn't pull a lot of punches and "calls 'em like he sees 'em". If you're looking for some amazingly effective (and intense) training ideas, this is where you want to go. Be prepared to laugh at stuff you know is "just wrong"...but FUNNY! Good times. Enjoy.

www.zentofitness.com/
Just started following this site. Loaded with lots of stuff...I'll let you decide. I like it.

www.charmcitykettlebells.com
The flagship site of Sandy Sommer, RKC and affectionately referred to (by me) as "Baltimore's King of Swing". I've done some one-on-one kettlebell training with Sandy and I can say without a doubt, he's the REAL DEAL. If you're looking for kettlebell advice or training, Sandy's the guy you want to see.

www.quicktofit.com
Another new site for me...like the look, the content and the variety. Go see for yourself.


Lifestyle and Change:

www.zenhabits.net
Leo B. has created one of my all time favorite blogs ever. Absolutely wonderful site, Never dissapoints...always take away something good. Another LIFR Hall of Fame winner.

www.marksdailyapple.com
Mark's book "The Primal Blueprint" is a definite winner if you're looking to make a change the way you live your life...whether you decide to go 100% primal...or maybe 70% (like me!). His site is amazing...loaded with more "goodies" than you could ever wish for!

www.worldsstrongestlibrarian.com
Josh H. is a pretty amazing dude. That's all I'm going to say. Go check out his site, poke around and get to know Josh a bit...than you'll see what I mean. Funny, inspiring and motivational. Great stuff.

www.operationbeautiful.com
I just found this site about a week ago and absolutely love it! The idea is simply wonderfull. It's geared towards women...but it applies to all of us. Please give it a look. Think about the message...

www.postsecret.blogspot.com
A site my wife has been following for a long time and I just started a few months ago...If you've never heard of it or visited the site...do yourself a favor and check it out. But spend sometime going through the older posts...and then come back again. Very thought provoking in a vicarious way. One of a kind blog. Nice.


You'll notice that some of these are also on "My Blog List" on the right side of the page...ALL of the blogs listed there are terrific and worth a look!

Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoy them all.

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"Another tough woman..."

For some time now, my wife Jan, has been struggling with losing weight, building more muscle and getting fit. She's terrific at tossing together green salads that would rival anything on the Food Network and for the most part eats well balanced meals and doesn't splurge much on sweets. But sticking to a consistent exercise routine day in and day out has been an issue for the past several years.

Until about six weeks ago.

That's when Jan asked me if I would help her workout in the mornings. Basically, if I would act as her "trainer" and put together a workout program that would get results. Period. Plain and simple.

And that's just what we've been doing four mornings a week, every week for the last six weeks.

I decided to write about her efforts after this past Sunday's hour long session coupled with the work she did this morning. I think she may be the perfect role model for anyone who is frustrated with where they are and wants to get stronger and improve their overall health.

Also, if you're reading this and think you're "too old" to start exercising...she turned 51 this year and after six weeks of 100% effort is stronger than she's been in years. And we're just getting started.
[Editor: Make sure before starting any exercise program that your doctor approves...]

So are we going to the gym in the early morning hours and spending lots of time doing bench presses, pull-ups and heavy deadlifts? Ah...no.
[Although I'm partial to pull-ups and deads, that's not what we're doing.]

We're fortunate to live right at the edge of a park and there's a playground a few hundred yards up the hill from our house that makes a perfect early morning outdoor gym. After the kids go off to school, I grab a 10lb medicine ball, along with an equipment bag filled with resistance bands, light dumbells, workout charts and a variety of balls (dodgeball, softball, whiffle ball, and small superball) and we head up to the playground.

Then for the next 20-30 minutes I have Jan do various circuits, supersets or timed sets, sometimes followed by "balance" exercises like standing on one leg or standing on the edge of a wall and catching different size and weight balls, without falling forward or backward.
[Good stuff to keep the "balance" part of your brain working...]

What really impresses me is the passion and determination that Jan brings with her each morning. She doesn't just go through the motions...she attacks each challenge I give her and nails it!

Example: when we first started our morning workouts six weeks ago, she could do about three push-ups with good form. This past Sunday, midway into her routine, after doing a bunch of squats, lunges, stairs, rows (with the heavy purple bands), I asked her to do ten push-ups. She did fifteen. She had done fourteen on Friday and wanted to beat that number. How cool is that?

Sunday I also introduced her to Mr. Funner's version of "mini-tabatas": four timed sets of the same exercise, 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. And she killed it.

First we did Thrusters (squat press) with 5lb. dumbbells...rest a bit...then Rows w/the Purple Resistance Band...rest a bit...then Bodyweight Squats at a faster cadence. In between each timed set I had her running up a short 12 step stairway, two steps at a time...just to keep her heart rate up and keep her moving.

After about 20 minutes we slowed down and worked on balance exercises for a few minutes. After that, a few minutes of stretching and then we headed for home. As I mentioned earlier, she brings a serious "let's do this" attitude to each of our training sessions and I love it!

Here's some of the playground "fun" we have in the morning:

Warm-up:
Arm Swings
Rotator Cuff Internal/External Rotation ( thin Red Bands)
Bodyweight Squats - 8 reps
Push-ups - 3 or 5
Stairs

Circuit Exercises: (different each day)
Bodyweight Squats - 15 reps
Stairs (1 or 2 sets between each exercise)
Band Rows (She's already moved up to the thick Purple Bands)
Lunge w/Twist (holding 10lb Med Ball) - 10 reps
Push-ups - 10+
Straight leg Deadlifts w/ 10lb Med Ball
Thrusters w/ 10lb Med Ball - 15 reps
Side Steps using Resistance Band
Step ups - 10 reps/side
Walking Lunges (across playground and back)
Plank - 60 sec holds (worked up from 30 sec first week)
Ski Jumpers - 10 reps (Squat w/ tricep pull-down as you stand)
Hill Runs (playground has terrific hill on one side!)

Mini-Tabata Exercises:
Thrusters w/5lb dumbbells
Band Rows
Bodyweight Squats
Straight leg Deadlifts w/ 10lb Med Ball

No pictures yet, but don't be too surprised to see some soon!
The results have all been good so far: lost some weight, some inches, more energy and much, much stronger than when we started.

Another tough woman...an inspiration from where I sit.

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"BLOG-4-CAUSE...You can help today"

As John Cleese might say: "And now for something completely different" for luckisforrabbits...

Joanna Sutter from http://www.fitnessandspice.com/ and her friend Lance Ekum have done a really terrific thing: they've put together an eBook to help contribute to finding a cure for breast cancer in connection with the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Talk about "making your own luck! Big kudos to Joanna and Lance...and to ALL of those who contributed to the eBook!

I decided to display their banner ad [over on the right above my profile information] which links to the Blogging For A Cause site for anyone who would like to help by donating a few dollars to this very worthwhile cause.

Please don't just "think about it"...go ahead and click on the banner/link, donate what you can afford (a $5 donation will go a long way if lots of us get involved) and then download the eBook, sit back and enjoy some "good stuff"!

Go ahead. It's good karma.

Thanks for your help.

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"Mr. Funner 's Guest Post..."

Cheryl Ragsdale, from That Girl Is Funny, asked if I'd write a post about age and the martial arts. Cheryl is no stranger to being on the mat. She trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Florian Martial Arts Center in Brookline, MA, run by Kenny Florian and Keith Florian. If you've ever watch a UFC match, you know who Kenny Florian is...(killer elbows)

My "guest post" can be found at her site: http://thatgirlisfunny.com/

Check it out!!!

Enjoy...

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"Old School Friday Night Ironworks"

Last night I decided to stop by the gym after work and work on my grip strength and 'pulling muscles'. Since I've started rolling/sparring in BJJ, I've come to realize that grip and pulling strength is critical if you want to have more success controlling your opponent.

I also remember reading something by former UFC champion, Matt Hughes, about how he trains his back more than his chest, since he felt that you do a lot more pulling than pushing when you're grappling. Since I've switched to BJJ I've noticed my overall strength improving and more definition (less fat?) in my upper body.
So last night I ditched anything "new" and went right back to some old school exercises...nothing fancy...short, sweet and with intensity.

(Ahhh...no, not what this dude is doing...although once MikeZ from http://smoketheblowfish.blogspot.com/ sees this...it'll probably be part of our next "challenge)

Here's what was on "the Friday night fight card" along with some of the tunes:

Warm-up: (2x)

Jump Rope 1 minute

20 Lumberjacks (10lb Medicine Ball)

10 Push-ups

12 Prisoner Squats

3 Pull-ups

Jump Rope 1 minute

tunes:

"Fake It" - Seether

"Made A Mistake" - Sugarcult

"Shaking" - Sugarcult

"Hate Every Beautiful Day" - Sugarcult

Round One:

10 Deadlifts 135lbs, 185lbs, 135lbs

superset with

15 Push-ups on the bar (3x)

tunes:

"Out of Exile" - Audioslave

"Love Like Winter" -AFI

"My Hero" - Foo Fighters

Round Two:

"Up the Rack"

10 DB Rows L/R 35lbs, 45lbs, 55lbs, 65lbs
straight through, as little rest as possible

Jump Rope 1 minute

tunes:

"Skeptic" - Chevelle

"Be Yourself" - Audioslave

"Colors" - Crossfade

Round Three:

Hammer Strength Seated Row* (w/individual "arms")

12 per side 80lbs, 105lbs, 115lbs

straight through, as little rest as possible

[*note: I generally don't use machines, but I love this one]

Jump Rope 1 minute

tunes:

"21st Century Digital Boy" - Bad Religion

"Had Enough" - Breaking Benjamin

"Wasting My Time" - Default

Round Four:

5 Pull-ups

DB Hammer Curls to failure 30lbs, 20lbs, 15lbs

drop to lower weight at failure

Jump Rope 1 minute

tunes:

"Let You Down" - Default

"Voices" - Disturbed

"Shout" - Disturbed

Round Five:

20 Stability Ball Rollouts

10 Med Ball Chops L/R

Side Planks 30 sec L/R

Stationary Bike 10 minutes

tunes:

"Jukebox Hero" - Foreigner (GREAT for rollouts!)

"This Life" - Hourcast

"Savin' Me" - Nickelback

"If Today Was Your Last Day" - Nickelback

"Defy You" - The Offspring

fini.

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"One Tough Woman, Revisited..."

Rachel Demara is one of the BJJ instructors at Evolve Academy. She's the woman in the black and blue rashguard who pulls guard in each of the three matches I posted. If you follow luckisforrabbits you may remember I wrote about her on August 7th and how she was training with some of the tougher guys at Evolve to get ready for an upcoming match.

On October 3rd, 2009, Rachel Demara won Absolute First for women in the Pan Am NOGI competition in New York City. She won nine (I think) matches...and won ALL of them by submission, something unheard of at that level. Rachel is one tough woman.

I'm always amazed at how tenacious she is when grappling with one of the guys at Evolve...you can see it in these clips...she has a plan, she remains calm and relaxed throughout each match...and ultimately works her way to where she wants to be. Nice. [Something to strive for...]



The best part is that Rachel is extremely helpful to us "newbies" in giving advice, showing exactly how to apply a technique or how to get to a better position. As I mentioned once before, I feel VERY fortunate to have her as an instructor and I'm looking forward to learning more from her in the future.

Congratulations, Rachel!

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.

"Distance Burpees and Over-Unders on the mat..."

We had some fun in today's Teen Aikido class with our warm-ups...I had them running, skipping, lunging, side shuffling, running some more...and then: distance burpees, ala Mr. Smoke D. Blowfish fame (see above) and over-unders (see below).

Then a bit more running followed by a short round of "alligator push-ups" (staggered stance push-ups, then 'walk' your hand forward, do another push-up, walk your other hand forward, do another, etc...like an alligator walking)

I asked Yusef, one of our biggest, strongest students if he liked the warm-ups today. I picked him because he's always asking me to make the warm-ups 'tough' and he'll kid me if he thinks they were too easy. With sweat dripping down his face, he smiled a BIG smile, nodded his head and said, "Oh yeah, that was fun."

On the way home, I asked both of my kids what they thought of the distance burpees and told me they thought it was one of the best warm-ups that we've ever done. (Amazing. I hate burpees with a passion. Looks like it's not genetic...)

Mission accomplished, "Coach".

Stay tuned for more to come.

F.