12 Days of Fitness, plus Wednesday workout

The 12 Days of Fitness, in case you're smart and aren't on as many e-fitness mailing lists as I am, is a promotion that I believe was originally the brainchild of one Dax Moy, a UK-based fitness person who's got a program called The Elimination Diet. (FWIW I have a freebie version of his e-book, and if you think you might have food sensitivities his program looks like it'd be a worthwhile thing to do. Basically you cleanse your diet of all the common allergens--wheat, dairy and so forth, then gradually start adding them back in. When problems develop in response to a particular food or type of food--bingo! you know you're sensitive to it. Certainly it's not a new concept but Dax Moy does a good job of explaining how to go about it, and even helps out with a meal plan in case you're at a loss for what to eat if you're not having your usual Kentucky-fried gluten soy bombs or whatever. Yes, Dax's name is a bit odd, but I think it must be because he's from the UK. I work with a Brit who's called Jed--only he spells it Ged. Don't ask.)



Anyhoo, to get back to the 12 Days of Fitness, it seems as though every online fitness guru you've ever heard of, and more than a few you haven't, is participating, You sign up, and every day for 12 days, starting today, you'll be sent links to various and sundry !free! tidbits of fitness information. Many of which actually seem to be pretty worthwhile IMO. To access some of the information you do indeed need to supply an e-mail address and get on some mailing lists, but as I've said before, I don't mind that so much. The only thing I will NOT do is provide credit card information ("Cancel after 7 days and keep your !free! bonuses!!"), and I've not been asked to do that, nor do I expect to be.



The best of today's freebies were from Workout Muse and Troy Anderson/Josh Henkin, who are Arizona-based kettlebell/fat loss gurus. The Workout Muse bonus I actually already had since I'm on their mailing list already, and it includes a nice little mp3 download that keeps track of time during timed sets, along with some suggestions for circuit workouts. I think I mentioned it a few weeks ago and gave it a thumbs-up. The Troy Anderson thing is a 30-page e-book with a 4 week abs program you're meant to do as an add-on to your regular workouts. There are 3 separate workouts, each to be done once a week and each consisting of a full body exercise plus a more abs-focused exercise. Workout 1 consists of kettlebell front squats and kettlebell chops, Workout 2 consists of kettlebell swings and max hold planks, and Workout 3, which I did today as a finisher to my Turbulence Training workout, consists of Turkish getups and sprints. I love this type of workout and consider it far more effective than doing a bazillion crunches or whatever.



There also was a kind of cute-looking "laptop bag workout" with suggestions for using your laptop bag as a resistance prop when on business trips. Laptop bag swings, anyone? I can't imagine it replacing a regular workout, but if you're stuck in a hotel room and desperate for endorphins, why not give it a shot?



So, anyway, that's the scoop on the 12 Days of Fitness. I'll update as we move through December and I get access to more of the freebies. And once I've separated the wheat from the chaff (with apologies to those of you who're gluten-phobic), I'll be sure to let you know what I think is worth checking out.



Now, for the workout:



Usual warmup circuit



superset: DB split squats, 1x6x30, 3x8x40; SB rollouts, 1x6, 3x10

superset: DB RDL, 3x8x40; DB push press, 3x6x25

tri-set: BB squat, 3x12x100; SB prone tucks, 3x15, side planks, 3x45 sec.



core/cardio: KB turkish getup ladders 2x, 1, 2, 3; 200 meter sprint 6x. The way this worked was, you do one turkish getup to each side, then sprint. Then you do 2 getups per side, then sprint. Then 3 per side, then sprint. And then you start again with 1 getup per side and work your way back up the ladder. It took me a couple times to figure that out; at first I thought I was meant to do two TGU 1, 2, 3 ladders each set, but then I realized that couldn't possibly be right because, well, that'd be 24 getups per set, and with six sets to do ... well, that'd be overkill, especially since this is one of those workouts where each week you're supposed to add sets and reps. So, anyway, I ended up doing some extra getups my first two sets. Might try it with a heavier kettlebell next time I do the workout (I was using 15 today). Or, I might stick with doing some extra reps, as I have a little trouble stabilizing my left shoulder properly if I go too heavy.